SIT probing Zubeen Garg’s death charges four for murder

A Special Investigation Team probing the death of Assamese singer Zubeen Garg filed a chargesheet in the matter on Friday, charging four out of the seven arrested persons with murder, ANI quoted the police as saying.

Zubeen Garg, a renowned Assamese singer, died on September 19 during a yacht trip in Singapore, a day before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival there.

The event had been organised by the Indian government and the Indian High Commission in Singapore, with support from the Assam Association and the North East India Association in the country.

The four persons accused of murder are Shyamkanu Mahanta, who was the organiser of the North East India Festival, Zubeen Garg’s manager Siddharatha Sharma and two musicians who were with the singer on the yacht – Shekharjyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta – the chief of the SIT Munna Prasad Gupta told ANI.

Besides, Zubeen Garg’s cousin, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sandipan Garg, who had travelled with him to Singapore, has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, while two of the singer’s personal security officers have been accused of criminal breach of trust.

Gupta, who is also the special director general of police leading the criminal investigation department, stated that the main chargesheet is around 2,500 pages long, reported ANI. When combined with various additional documents, such as bank records, digital evidence and forensic reports, it adds up to approximately 12,000 pages, he added.

A death certificate issued by the Singaporean authorities on September 20 stated the cause of Zubeen Garg’s death as drowning.

The Singapore Police Force on October 17 had said that it did not suspect foul play in the singer’s death following preliminary investigations into the matter.

It had added that the probe may take up to three more months to complete, following which the findings would be submitted to the State Coroner, a judicial officer, who would determine whether the matter required a Coroner’s Inquiry.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has repeatedly claimed that Zubeen Garg’s death was not accidental but was a “plain and simple murder”.

The chief minister had said on November 25 that the SIT would file a “watertight chargesheet”, adding that the motive behind the alleged crime “will shock the people of the state”.

Also read:

• Are Assam protests over Zubeen Garg’s death becoming a political challenge for Himanta?

• ‘Police raj’: In aftermath of Zubeen Garg death, a spate of arrests, detentions of protesting fans

• Why musician Zubeen Garg’s death has unleashed a storm of anger in Assam

• What does Assam’s moment of unity around Zubeen Garg’s death mean in a time of divisive politics?