SIT head explains need for govt approval to start prosecution in Zubeen Garg death case

Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 19 (ANI): As the Centre granted legal approval under Section 208 of BNSS to proceed with the case related to the late singer Zubeen Garg's death in Singapore, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) Head & Special DGP-CID Munna Prasad Gupta explained how the sanction will enable prosecution against the accused persons.
"If any offence happens outside India and if any Indian citizen is involved in that offence, then to start a prosecution against such a person, the prosecution sanction of the Government of India is mandatory under Section 208 of BNSS," he said.
"Today, we have received the sanction from the Union Home Ministry. Without the prosecution sanction of the Central government, we cannot launch prosecution against any person, any Indian citizen, if the incident had happened abroad. Since in this case, the incident happened abroad, we required the sanction of the Government of India, and we have received that sanction under 208 of BNSS," he added.
Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday confirmed that the Centre has granted legal approval under Section 208 of BNSS in the Zubeen Garg's mysterious death case, allowing the state to file a charge sheet by December 10.
Speaking to the reporters, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "As you know, if any incident happens in a foreign country, under Section 208 of BNSS, the prosecuting agency has to take a prior sanction of the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Central government. Without that sanction, the court will not take cognisance of the matter, and it will not proceed to trial. Today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has accorded a sanction to proceed with the matter further, and the sanction will enable us to give a charge sheet in time. We'll conclude the investigation within a period of 10 to 15 days, and we will file our charge sheet before December 10."
Zubeen Garg, born on November 18, 1972, in Tura, Meghalaya, came from an Assamese family and was closely tied to his ancestral village, Tamulichiga in Jhanji, Jorhat. Though his musical journey carried him across India and abroad, he always kept a deep emotional bond with the landscapes, culture, and vibrant spirit of Assam and the wider northeastern India.
Garg died on September 19, and the Assam government formed an SIT to investigate his death. So far, seven people, including Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma (Zubeen's manager), Shekhar Jyoti Goswami (bandmate), Amritprava Mahanta (co-singer), Sandipan Garg (Zubeen's cousin), and his two PSOs, Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishy, have been arrested by the SIT/CID. The court has sent them to judicial custody. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently told the media that the SIT will submit the charge sheet before the court by December 8. (ANI)