The advocate representing Siddharth Sharma, former manager of late singer Zubeen Garg and one of the prime accused in his death case, on Tuesday, April 28 argued before a Guwahati fast-track court that Sharma’s responsibilities were limited to managing the artiste’s professional engagements and not his personal security.

During the hearing of Sharma’s bail plea, the defence counsel submitted that the accused was entrusted only with organising shows and coordinating programmes for the singer. The lawyer further argued that Sharma could not be held personally accountable for the safety and security of the singer, who allegedly drowned while attending a party in Singapore.

The public prosecution, however, opposed the defence argument and criticised the stand taken by Sharma’s legal team during the proceedings.

The hearing was conducted before the special fast-track court constituted in Guwahati to undertake daily proceedings in the high-profile death case involving the late singer.

Advocate Pradipta Talukdar, representing Garima Saikia Garg in the matter, informed reporters after the hearing that the court had completed arguments related to Siddharth Sharma’s bail petition and reserved its order for May 2.

“Today, the court completed the hearing for Siddharth Sharma’s bail plea. The court has reserved its verdict in the matter and will deliver it on May 2,” Talukdar said.

The court is also scheduled to conclude the charge hearing on May 2 for two other accused in the case — Paresh Baishya and Nandeswar Bora — who served as personal security officers of the late singer. Proceedings related to the remaining five accused will be taken up at a later stage.

Former bandmate of Zubeen Garg, Partha Goswami, reiterated his demand for justice for the singer and called for wider recognition of his contributions to society and Assamese culture.

Speaking to reporters, Goswami said discussions in court on Tuesday also focused on issues related to the singer’s security arrangements. He expressed hope that justice would be delivered in the case.

“The school curricula should include chapters on Zubeen Garg. His good works should be discussed more so that people learn about him and what he stood for,” Goswami said.