New Delhi [India], October 3 : Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser of the Northeast India Festival, who was arrested in connection with the death case of singer Zubeen Garg, has approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the investigation from Assam Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) to a central agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Mahanta, who has been arrested by the Assam CID, has also sought the appointment of a retired Supreme Court judge to monitor and supervise the investigation pertaining to the death of the singer.
In the petition, Mahanta, who was arrested by the CID, has urged the apex court to hand over the probe from the Assam Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) to a central agency such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The singer died in Singapore on September 19 in a scuba diving accident, a day before he was supposed to perform at the Northeast India Festival.
The petition further sought the transfer of the FIR registered in Assam to another state, citing concerns over impartiality.
On Thursday, the Assam CID added murder charges to the FIR. Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta is leading a 10-member SIT that is probing the case.
Besides Mahanta, SIT also arrested Zubeen's manager Siddharth Sharma, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and co-singer Amritprabha Mahanta.
Zubeen's untimely death has sparked widespread attention in Assam and beyond, with fans and civil society groups demanding a thorough and unbiased probe.
The petition further sought a direction to restrain the police from detaining or adopting any coercive measures against Mahanta or his family members. However, he has already been arrested.
Mahanta alleged that there have been "serious threats to his life and personal liberty due to public and media outrage."
He also sought adequate protection for himself and his family members in the wake of public and media outrage.
Mahanta claimed that he was being subjected to a "well-calculated witch-hunt," alleging false narratives are being spread against him in the media.
He also urged the apex court to direct authorities to preserve all crucial evidence, including post-mortem reports and records from Singapore authorities.
"Singapore authorities said no one was at fault. These reports should be preserved. Video recordings of the accident show that Mahanta was not present at the scene. The videos should be taken on record by the probe team," stated the plea.
He has firmly dismissed the allegations against him, while emphasising that they were "ludicrous".