Assam: What explains the intense public anger after singer Zubeen Garg’s death by drowning?

On Wednesday morning, Pijush Hazarika, a senior cabinet minister of Assam’s state government, and a government spokesperson, uploaded dramatic photos on X of two individuals behind bars.

The two, who had been arrested earlier that morning, were linked to the singer Zubeen Garg, who had died on September 19.

One was his manager, Siddharth Sharma. The other, Shyamkanu Mahanta, was the organiser of the North East India Festival in Singapore, for which the singer had travelled to perform. But Garg died of drowning the day before the scheduled performance, after going out to sea on a yacht and entering the water for a swim.

Since the singer’s death, a flurry of FIRs had been filed against the duo – more than 60 in all, according to the Press Trust of India. These accused them of murder, among other crimes.

In his post on X, Hazarika credited Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for “delivering justice” for Garg.

It was an unusual step for such a senior public official – not just to display such a personal interest in one particular case, but also essentially declare that those who had been arrested were guilty.

Some argued that the minister’s comments violated the rights of the two men. “No conviction yet. But pictures already shared, which...

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