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Assam: SIT formed to probe Zubeen Garg’s death; Congress demands CBI inquiry
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that viscera samples of Zubeen Garg would be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Delhi for detailed examination
Silchar: The Assam government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of singer Zubeen Garg, who died while swimming in the sea in Singapore on September 18. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said he had held a high-level meeting with police and senior officials to monitor the investigation.
“In regard to the untimely death of our beloved Zubeen Garg, we will not spare anyone. Today, I had a meeting with the DGP, ADGP (CID) and the chief secretary of Assam. I have instructed the DGP to constitute an SIT with the best officers of Assam Police,” Sarma wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He added that viscera samples would be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi for detailed examination. “The SIT will have full freedom to investigate the case with complete professional integrity,” Sarma said.
According to the death certificate issued by a Singapore hospital, Garg’s cause of death was drowning. However, Sarma said that the post-mortem report may provide more details. An additional autopsy was carried out at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on September 23, but the report is still awaited.
Following the singer’s death, more than 50 first information reports (FIRs) were lodged across Assam against Northeast India Festival (NEIF) organiser Syamkanu Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, Guwahati-based media owner Sanjiv Narain, and Sekhar Jyoti Goswami, a close associate of Mahanta.
Garg was to take part in the North East Festival, organised by Mahanta in Singapore on September 20. But a day prior to that he along with some associates and Assamese residing in Singapore went out to sea in a yacht. The 52-year-old was swimming when he is believed to have suffered a bout of epileptic seizure and died.
Since the singer had had such episodes in the past and was advised by doctors to be careful in water, it is suspected that those close to him might have been negligent in his care or may have played a role in the incident.
On Wednesday, the Assam government announced a ban on Mahanta and any organisation linked to him from organising events in the state. Sarma also said the government would request the Centre not to extend any financial assistance or sponsorship to him.
Mahanta, an Assam-born entrepreneur and chief functionary of socio-cultural trust Trend MMS, launched the Northeast Festival in Delhi in 2013 and later expanded it to Bangkok. He was also the organiser of the Singapore edition of NEIF, which Garg had travelled to attend. Mahanta’s team later said local Assamese community members had taken Garg on a yacht visit, during which he drowned.
Meanwhile, Sanjiv Narain, who was in Singapore at the time of Garg’s death, denied being on board the yacht. “By the time I reached, Zubeen had already been moved into an ambulance. I saw him receiving CPR inside. It was a deeply shocking sight,” he said, clarifying that he had travelled to Singapore for a book launch on Bhupen Hazarika and was not associated with NEIF.
Police officers familiar with the matter said the SIT may question Mahanta, who is currently in Delhi, and will also record statements of Assam residents who attended the festival.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed in Gauhati high court seeking a judicially monitored probe. The petition, filed by international human rights activist and lawyer Amitabh Sharma, calls for a CBI inquiry under continuous court supervision. It also demands preservation and advanced forensic testing of Garg’s viscera, blood and tissue samples, with expert review by AIIMS, New Delhi.
Separately, the Assam Congress wrote to President Droupadi Murmu demanding a CBI probe. Leader of opposition Debabrata Saikia said state police lacked the jurisdiction to investigate events that occurred in Singapore. “The investigation is entirely dependent on diplomatic channels beyond the capacity of the state government,” he wrote, warning that the case risked remaining inconclusive without central intervention.
Other political groups, including Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal, have also called for a CBI probe.
Meanwhile, the Assam police have arrested 15 people over vandalism during protests after Garg’s funeral in Guwahati earlier this week. On Sunday, fans blocked the national highway in Jorhat for several hours, demanding that his mortal remains be brought to the town where he spent his formative years. Their demand for the cremation to be held in Jorhat was later denied.
