Guwahati: Assam Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta has resigned from his post, citing “moral grounds,” after his brother, Shyamkanu Mahanta, was arrested in connection with the death of Assamese singer and cultural icon Zubeen Garg.
The resignation comes after the CIC office began receiving Right to Information (RTI) applications seeking details about government assistance allegedly linked to Shyamkanu’s activities.
Mahanta, a former Assam Director General of Police (DGP), confirmed to The Indian Express that he had submitted his resignation to the Raj Bhawan on Wednesday. He was appointed as the state’s Chief Information Commissioner in 2023, following his retirement from the police service earlier that year.
CIC Cites Moral Responsibility in Stepping Down
Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said he decided to resign to “uphold the dignity of the office” and prevent any perception of conflict of interest. “I had verbally told the highest office in the state earlier that I would put in my papers if such a thing comes, and the CMO had responded that would be okay,” he told The Indian Express.
He added, “On the 4th of this month, someone wrote a letter to me recognising that I have conducted my roles and responsibilities with fairness and told me that he would be filing an RTI application in connection with assistance received by my brother from the government, and sought my cooperation in this. I thought that I need to uphold the highest dignity of the office and democratic tradition, and not allow any aspersions to be cast on my office. So on moral grounds, I decided to resign.”
Brother Shyamkanu Among Seven Arrested in Zubeen Case
Shyamkanu, an event organiser and director of an events management company, was arrested last month and is currently lodged in Baksa jail. He had organised the North East India Festival Singapore, where Zubeen Garg was to perform as the festival’s cultural brand ambassador. The singer died on 19 September, a day before the event, during a yacht outing in Singapore.
Shyamkanu is one of seven individuals arrested in the case. The Assam Police have charged him with criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence, later adding murder charges.
The Mahanta family holds significant influence in Assam’s public life, with another brother, Nani Gopal Mahanta, currently serving as Vice-Chancellor of Gauhati University and previously as the state government’s education advisor.
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