Zubeen Garg trial: Court orders CID probe into leaked witness statements

The fast-track court in Kamrup (Metro) handling the Zubeen Garg death trial has ordered the Assam CID to investigate the unauthorized publication of a prosecution witness’s statement on social media. The court noted that two Facebook pages, ‘The Truth’ and ‘Assam Talks Digital’, published a version of a witness statement containing the magistrate’s signature and seal, an act the court observed “prima facie appeared” to interfere with the administration of justice.

Additionally, the court directed the Inspector General of Prisons in Assam to take action against the Superintendent of Baksa District Jail. The Superintendent had submitted documents bearing an accused’s signature that were not the original documents sent by the court. Seven individuals, including Siddharth Sharma, Shyamkanu Mahanta, and Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, are currently facing trial.

In related testimony, Sushmita Goswami, an Assamese NRI from Singapore and a key witness, concluded three days of evidence. Goswami provided the court with videos from her phone containing geo-tags and timestamps to help establish Zubeen Garg’s location on the day of the incident. She noted that the Singapore Police had previously confiscated the devices to secure evidence and that she had provided consistent statements to both Singaporean and Indian authorities.