North East India Festival (NEIF) chief organiser Shyam Kanu Mahanta has filed a petition before the Supreme Court alleging that he has been made a “scapegoat to subdue the current public outrage created due to media reporting” in connection with the death of Assam’s iconic singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore.

In his writ petition, the 53-year-old festival organiser has claimed that he is the victim of “a well-calculated witch-hunt involving irresponsible media reporting, both print and electronic, which seeks to create a false narrative with regard to the alleged involvement of the petitioner in the sad and unfortunate demise of his very dear personal friend, Mr Zubeen Garg”.

The plea stated that Mahanta, who was organising the NEIF in Singapore from September 19–21, 2025, “was not even pres

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