Days after the last rites of Assamese singer Zubeen Garg were carried out on the outskirts of Assam's Guwahati on Tuesday, a video has surfaced on social media showing professionals performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Garg in Singapore, where he died while visiting to attend and perform at the Northeast India Festival (NEIF).
The video shows Garg lying unconscious inside an ambulance as a professional performs CPR on him.
The video comes as Sanjive Narain, a Guwahati-based media owner, who was in Singapore at the time of Garg’s death, said that he saw the singer receiving CPR by the time he reached the spot. He also denied being on the yacht with Garg on the day of his death.
Also read: Assam: SIT formed to probe Zubeen Garg’s death; Congress demands CBI inquiry
HT.com has reviewed the video but is withholding it from publication in light of its sensitive nature and out of respect for the deceased and his family.
“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,” Narain said. He also clarified that he had travelled to Singapore for a book launch on Bhupen Hazarika and was not associated with the NEIF.
{{/usCountry}}“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,” Narain said. He also clarified that he had travelled to Singapore for a book launch on Bhupen Hazarika and was not associated with the NEIF.
{{/usCountry}}Narain’s clarification comes as him, along with some other people — NEIF organiser Syamkanu Mahanta, his close associate Sekhar Jyoti Goswami, and Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma — are facing over 50 first information reports across Assam in connection with the singer’s death.
Zubeen Garg died on September 19 in Singapore where he had gone to perform at the NIEF. He died while swimming at the sea in Singapore a day before he was scheduled to perform at the festival.
According to the death certificate issued by a Singapore hospital, Garg’s cause of death was drowning. However, a second post-mortem was conducted on Tuesday in Guwahati, which may provide additional information. The report of the second post mortem is still awaited.
Following FIRs over Garg’s death, the Assam government on Wednesday announced a ban on NEIF organiser Syamkanu Mahanta and any organisation linked to him from organising events in the state. Assam chief minister Himanta Sarma also said the government would request the Centre not to extend any financial assistance or sponsorship to him.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed to probe the untimely death of Zubeen Garg.