Assam CIC quits over RTI queries tied to brother in Zubeen Garg case.

The Newsmill: Guwahati: Thursday, November 07, 2025.

Assam chief information commissioner and former director general of police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta resigned from his post on November 6, citing moral grounds. His resignation follows RTI applications filed concerning the activities of his brother, Shyamkanu Mahanta, who has been arrested in connection with the death of singer Zubeen Garg.

Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta submitted his resignation to the governor at Raj Bhawan. He was appointed to the post of chief information commissioner (CIC) in 2023 after retiring as Assam’s DGP earlier that year. The CIC is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in the state. In a statement to the media, Mahanta said he had received a letter on November 4 informing him of a forthcoming RTI application linked to government assistance received by his brother. “I thought that I needed 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,” he said.

Shyamkanu is currently lodged at the district jail in Baksa. He and the other accused face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including criminal conspiracy, murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence.