Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta, who was serving as the State Chief Information Commissioner, has tendered his resignation amid growing public and media attention over the death of singer Zubeen Garg and a string of RTI applications linked to the matter. State sources say the Chief Minister reviewed the RTI filings and reportedly advised Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta to step down to avoid any appearance of conflict. While Northeast Scoop tried to contact him for comment, his phone was switched off and no statement has been issued from his side so far.
The case has taken a sharp turn in recent weeks. Assam’s probe into Zubeen Garg’s death in Singapore initially treated as an accident has been expanded by police. The state CID has added murder charges and arrested several people connected with the singer’s tour and the North East India Festival. Among those detained were festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and Zubeen Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma; both were produced in court and remanded to police custody. These arrests and the addition of murder charges have increased public pressure for a full and impartial investigation.
Some arrested persons have made allegations during questioning that have further complicated the probe. Reports say one of the accused claimed that poisoning may have taken place; that claim is part of what investigators are checking as they piece together events surrounding Garg’s death. At the same time, the SIT and Assam CID have been looking into financial and other links around some of those named in the inquiry. 
There are also signs that central agencies may get involved. Media reports say the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax department are likely to join the CID’s probe to examine alleged fiscal irregularities connected to persons named in the investigation. That development has widened the scope of the inquiry beyond the immediate facts of the death to possible financial angles.
The case has put a spotlight on members of the extended Mahanta family. Shyamkanu Mahanta who has been named in the FIRs and arrested has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking a central agency probe amid claims that he is being unfairly targeted. His lawyers say he has faced a “vicious media trial” and asked for impartial, higher-level investigation. At the same time, protesters and student bodies have raised separate demands against Dr. Nani Gopal Mahanta, a senior academic and another member of the family, over unrelated corruption and misuse-of-office allegations. The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP) submitted a memorandum asking Gauhati University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Nani Gopal Mahanta to step down, and media outlets show that he accepted the memorandum and agreed to face scrutiny.
