Zubeen Garg was poisoned in Singapore, arrested bandmate's startling allegations

A nine-member Special Investigation Team of the CID is currently probing the death of Zubeen Garg in Singapore.

The Zubeen Garg death case has taken a drastic turn, with arrested bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami alleging that the singer was “poisoned” in Singapore and did not die of drowning as previously believed.

A pavilion with photographs of deceased singer Zubeen Garg, at the entrance of a community Durga Puja pandal, in Guwahati. (PTI File)

According to documents cited in a PTI report, Goswami alleged that Garg was poisoned by his manager Siddharth Sharma and festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta in Singapore.

The NorthEast India Festival organiser, Garg’s manager and two band members – Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta – have been arrested in the case and sent to 14 days of police remand.

"During the critical moments when Shri Zubeen Garg was gasping for breath, almost drowning, Siddharth Sharma was heard shouting 'Jabo de, jabo de' . The witness emphasised that Zubeen Garg was an expert swimmer... and therefore, could not have died due to drowning,” the remand memo reported by PTI read.

"He alleged that Shri Sharma and Shri Shyamkanu Mahanta had poisoned the victim and deliberately chosen a foreign venue to conceal their conspiracy. Shri Sharma also instructed him not to share the yacht videos with anyone," stated the note, signed by SIT member and senior SP Rosie Kalita.

"The statement of witness Shri Shekhar Jyoti Goswami... revealed that prior to the death of Zubeen Garg, a conspiracy was formulated to portray his death as accidental. He stated that Shri Siddharth Sharma, who stayed with him... in Singapore, had displayed suspicious conduct," the note further read.

Zubeen Garg death

Zubeen Garg died on September 19 in Singapore, where he was scheduled to perform at the 4th edition of the NorthEast India Festival, which was organised by Shyamkanu Mahanta and his company.

While initial reports said that Garg had died due to a scuba diving accident, it was later said that the singer had drowned while swimming in the sea.

Garg was cremated with full state honours in Assam, and thousands of fans came for one last glimpse of their icon. The state government has been under immense pressure to investigate the cause of death, and CM Himmanta Biswa Sarma has vowed to get to the bottom of this.