Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday announced that the Gauhati High Court has approved the formation of a judicial commission headed by a sitting judge to probe the death of singer Zubeen Garg. The commission will be led by Justice Soumitra Saikia, with the formal notification expected on Saturday. Sarma urged anyone in possession of information or evidence related to the case to present it before the commission.
Zubeen Garg died on September 19 in Singapore, a day before his scheduled performance at the North East India Festival (NEIF), an event organised to promote the cultural heritage of the region. A second postmortem was conducted in Assam on September 23 after his body was brought back from Singapore, where the death certificate had listed drowning as the cause. The Assam postmortem also reportedly ruled out foul play.
The case is being investigated by the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which has so far arrested four people – Shyamkanu Mahanta, the organiser of the NEIF, who was taken into custody at Delhi airport after arriving from Singapore; Siddharth Sharma, Garg’s manager, arrested in Gurugram; Shekharjyoti Goswami, a bandmate; and singer Amritprava Mahanta, who attended the Singapore event. All four are currently under 14-day police remand.
The FIR was initially filed under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and negligence. After interrogations, police added a charge of murder. The CID has also registered a separate case against Mahanta over alleged forgery and financial irregularities linked to the festival.
Chief Minister Sarma said the state government bears the responsibility of delivering justice in Garg’s case and assured a thorough investigation. He appealed to members of the Assamese community in Singapore, who were present when the singer drowned during a swimming session, to come forward with details, warning that strict action would follow against those withholding information.
Zubeen’s wife, Garima, has already given her statement in court and pressed for a comprehensive probe. Reports have noted that the singer had suffered epileptic seizures over the past five years, sometimes requiring hospitalisation, and doctors had cautioned him against water activities. On the day of the incident, Garg was swimming without a life jacket during a yacht trip arranged by Assamese NRIs in Singapore, when he allegedly had a seizure.
Meanwhile, Shyamkanu Mahanta has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the investigation to a central agency such as the CBI or NIA and has also requested that a retired Supreme Court judge be appointed to monitor the proceedings.