Assam CM encourages protests against judges in Zubeen Garg death case: Akhil Gogoi

Raijor Dal President and Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi along with fans of late singer Zubeen Garg attend a rally of the Zubeen Garg Justice Demand Committee demanding justice for the singer at Zubeen Khetra, Sonapur, in Kamrup. File. | Photo credit: ANI

Sibsagar MLA and Raijor Dal President Akhil Gogoi has accused Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of encouraging people to protest against judges and witnesses in the Zubeen Garg death case.

On Friday (November 6, 2026), the chief minister called the threat to his family after a group threatened to lay siege to his house over the case. He also said that the threat will be brought to the notice of Zubeen Garg Nyay Dabi Samiti by the Supreme Court and the Gauhati High Court as it could amount to an attempt to murder.

Mr. Gogoi, who heads the Samiti, responded by holding the Chief Minister in contempt of court.

The MLA denies threatening the judiciary and said his protests were aimed at the Assam government’s handling of the investigation. “I did not say a single word against the court or the judges. We never talked about surrounding the courts. The Chief Minister said that,” he said in a statement issued by the Samiti on Friday (November 6, 2026) evening.

“We are protesting that the executive has not submitted a charge sheet backed by adequate evidence to the court,” Mr. Gogoi said, pointing out that the chief minister had also advised people to present about 160 witnesses who allegedly staged a volte face and got singer Amritprava Mahanta, one of the seven accused in the Garg death case, granted bail on October 9.

Mr. Gogoi accused the Assam Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the case, of failing to collect evidence from the site of Gargo’s death in Singapore. Garg died while swimming in the sea off the island nation on 19 September 2025.

He said the SIT had failed to establish important circumstantial evidence and that flaws in his charge sheet had weakened the prosecution’s case.

He also recalled the Chief Minister’s statement in the Assembly in November 2025 in which he termed Garg’s death as a planned murder. “How could the Chief Minister make such categorical statements before the elections (April 2026) and then insist that justice can only be delivered by the judiciary?” he asked.

The Raijor Dal chief said the courts decide cases independently but their decisions depend on the quality of evidence presented to them.

Reiterating his demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into Garg’s death, he said the chief minister had insisted on an SIT to prevent the case from going beyond the control of the state government.

Published – 7 Nov 2026 13:25 IST