Aasu seeks watertight probe & chargesheet in Zubeen case

Guwahati: All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) held a state-wide sit-in on Tuesday, demanding justice for Zubeen. This followed a growing call for justice within 10 days after his wife, Garima, recently urged for justice on social media.The protest comes after Aasu leadership decided not to attend a scheduled meeting with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam Police.At the protest site near Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati, Aasu leaders stressed the importance of a thorough and flawless police investigation, emphasising that the chargesheet should be free of any loopholes. However, Aasu clarified that they do not support the call for ‘quick justice,’ as they believe it could compromise the investigation’s integrity.“Aasu won’t rest unless the culprits responsible for Zubeen’s death get exemplary punishment. Police investigation must be water-tight and speedy. Aasu is keeping an eye on these points,” Aasu chief advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya said.Aasu president Utpal Sarma said their legal advisors recommended skipping the SIT meeting to avoid any future questions about the neutrality of the police investigation in court due to the meeting in the middle of the investigation.

Zubeen and Aasu have been vocal critics of the BJP-led govt, especially during the anti-CAA movement. “If possible, we need justice at this moment. We want punishment for the culprits at this moment. But we have to remember the two aspects of law — justice delayed is justice denied and justice hurried is justice buried. We should not give scope to the SIT or police so that they can later say that pressure from the public to file the chargesheet early led to loopholes in it,” Sarma said.Despite the confidentiality surrounding Zubeen’s autopsy report, Sarma insisted that the people of Assam should know whether the autopsy report from GMCH matches the one from Singapore.Sit-ins were organised across all district headquarters in Assam. Aasu announced plans to light lamps on Oct 19 and conduct a ‘justice march’ at district headquarters on Oct 23.Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad also announced a series of protests across the state from Oct 17 to demand justice for Zubeen.