Internet snapped, police vehicles set on fire as Zubeen protests flare in Assam district where accused are jailed

‘Police deployed the use of rubber bullets and tear gas to bring the situation under control. We are counting the number of those injured, and at least three police vehicles have been set on fire,’ the IGP said

Written by Sukrita Baruah

Guwahati | Updated: October 15, 2025 08:42 PM IST

4 min read

The unrest and protest continued even after the convoy entered the prison complex.

Mobile internet services have been snapped and prohibitory orders imposed in Assam’s Baksa district following violent protests there after a convoy carrying five of the people arrested in connection with singer Zubeen Garg’s death was pelted with stones. The convoy was taking the five to the Baksa District Jail on Wednesday afternoon.

As the convoy carrying the men travelled into the prison, a large crowd gathered outside the complex and tried to surround it, pelting it with stones. The unrest and protest continued even after the convoy entered the prison complex.

Inspector General of Police, Law and Order, Akhilesh Kumar Singh, who arrived at the site after the violence broke out, told The Indian Express that as of 6:45 pm on Wednesday, the situation had been “brought under control” and that police were still collating information about how many people were injured in the violence.

“The situation is now under complete control, and we are still assessing everything that happened, since the incident covered a widespread area of around two-three kilometres. Police deployed the use of rubber bullets and tear gas to bring the situation under control. We are counting the number of those injured, and at least three police vehicles have been set on fire, and more have been damaged, including mine and the IGP BTAD’s (Bodoland Territorial Autonomous Districts, or Bodoland Territorial Region, where Baksa is located),” he said.

On Wednesday evening, the Baksa district administration imposed orders prohibiting the assembly of five or more people in Mushalpur, the district headquarters of Baksa, and areas adjoining the Baksa District Jail. The Home and Political Department also issued an order snapping mobile internet services in the entire district until further orders, citing apprehension that “social media and internet may be used to further spread inflammatory messages, rumours, etc that may lead to further aggravation of the situation”.

The five accused include two who have been named as the prime accused in the case: Northeast India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, who had both been arrested on October 1.

The other three were Garg’s cousin, Assam Police Service Officer Sandipan Garg – who had accompanied him to Singapore and was with him on the yacht outing during which died, and who had been arrested on October 8 – and the two Personal Security Officers who had been attached to Garg – Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya – who had been arrested on October 10.

After their arrests, all five had been remanded to police custody, where they had been questioned by the SIT constituted to investigate the case. On Wednesday, the police custody ended for all five, and they were produced before the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

The Assam government decided to send them to the new Baksa District Jail, which had only been inaugurated in June this year and does not have other prisoners, after the court reportedly expressed concern for their safety.

From the homepage