“Killing the Snake Without Breaking the Stick” — Congress Slams Govt Over Zubeen Case

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has renewed its demand for justice in the murder of Assam’s iconic singer Zubeen Garg, with former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Ripun Bora launching a scathing attack on the state government over the chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan on Friday, Bora alleged that the chargesheet was filed not to ensure justice but to shield the government from public accountability. He accused the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government of following what he described as a policy of “killing the snake without breaking the stick.”

According to Bora, public anger across Assam over the murder of Zubeen Garg forced the government’s hand. “The chargesheet has been filed merely to silence public outrage and create an impression that the government has done its duty,” he said, adding that a detailed reaction would be possible only after thoroughly examining the document.

Bora claimed that the government and the BJP are now attempting to shift the entire responsibility onto the judiciary. “From now on, the government will repeatedly say that justice lies only with the court, ask Zubeen’s fans not to protest, and claim that the SIT has completed its task. This chargesheet is meant to close the government’s chapter, not to deliver justice,” he alleged.

Highlighting what he called the hollowness of the chargesheet, Bora said that among all the sections invoked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, only two—Section 103 (murder) and Section 105—are of real consequence. The rest, he claimed, largely deal with conspiracy, financial transactions, and peripheral issues.

Drawing a parallel with the infamous Nithari killings, Bora recalled how the accused in one of India’s most brutal crime cases were eventually acquitted due to serious flaws in the investigation and chargesheet. “Lower courts awarded the death penalty, but the High Court and the Supreme Court overturned the verdicts because the case could not stand legal scrutiny,” he said. “Courts function on evidence and law, not on emotion or public sympathy.”

Bora warned that a similar fate could await the Zubeen Garg case if the investigation remains weak. He alleged that the chargesheet appears casual and responsibility-shirking. “Submitting a 3,700-page document, attaching hotel bills, airline tickets, or taxi receipts does not establish a murder case. These only create an illusion of seriousness,” he remarked.

Questioning the quality of evidence, Bora pointed out that the yacht on which Zubeen Garg had allegedly travelled—central to the case—has still not been seized. “If the object allegedly used in the crime is not even seized, how will the prosecution prove its case in court?” he asked. He also expressed doubts over whether the SIT had properly examined the crime scene, interrogated hotel staff and management, or questioned all the passengers on the yacht, despite claims that a party continued throughout the night.

Concluding his address, Ripun Bora issued a stern warning to the state leadership. “If the accused in the murder of Zubeen Garg are allowed to escape because of a defective investigation and a weak chargesheet, history will not forgive Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma,” he said.

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