Sonapur Police on Monday arrested five youths in connection with the alleged vandalism at New City Dhaba near Zubeen Kshetra on the night of September 19, when Assam observed Zubeen Divas to mark the first death anniversary of renowned singer Zubeen Garg.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Narottam Pegu, Ranoj Doley, Arun Doley, Jitu Doley, and Nilkantha Pegu. Police stated that four of the accused belong to Majuli, while one is from Lakhimpur. All five were apprehended in Guwahati.
According to the police, more than 100 youths had gathered at the dhaba on Saturday night after the liquor outlet on the premises was closed. The outlet was reportedly scheduled to remain open until around 10 pm but was shut at about 9 pm due to the prevailing situation and in compliance with police instructions regarding closing hours.
The early closure allegedly triggered anger among a section of the crowd, who demanded that the outlet be reopened. The situation soon escalated, and some youths allegedly vandalized parts of the establishment and created a disturbance on the premises.
New City Dhaba is located approximately 300 metres from Zubeen Kshetra, where large numbers of people had assembled throughout Zubeen Divas to pay tribute to the late singer.
Police personnel later arrived at the scene and reportedly resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd and restore order.
The five arrested youths are currently being questioned as part of the ongoing investigation. Police are also examining the circumstances that led to the gathering and the subsequent vandalism at the dhaba.
