Guwahati: The investigation into the unnatural death of Zubeen Garg took a new turn after band member Shekhar Jyoti Goswami – a key witness – alleging that the singer, producer and youth icon was poisoned in Singapore.
Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, has already been arrested and charged with alleged criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide. Shyamkanu Mahanta, the festival organiser, has also been named in the probe.
Goswami has apparently told the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that Sharma, who stayed with Garg at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore, behaved suspiciously prior to the singer’s death.
Goswami alleged that Sharma forcibly took control of a yacht from its sailor, putting passengers at risk, and instructed another person not to handle certain arrangements. During critical moments when Garg reportedly struggled to breathe, Sharma allegedly shouted, “let him go.”
Garg was apparently frothing from the mouth, something that happens to people who have been administered poison, Goswami said.
He also told the police that Garg was an expert swimmer who had trained both him and Sharma. According to him, Sharma, along with Mahanta, poisoned Garg, and deliberately chose Singapore as the venue to conceal the act. Sharma reportedly instructed that yacht videos not be shared with anyone.
Officials claimed that witness statements corroborated Sharma’s suspicious conduct and alleged role in endangering Garg. According to the arrest document, Sharma failed to provide any satisfactory explanation for his actions, and material evidence including financial records and witness testimony is cited by police as prima facie evidence of his culpability in serious, non-bailable offences.