Amid clamour for answers on Indian singer Zubeen Garg’s death, 5 suspects have been sent to judicial custody

SINGAPORE: The Indian singer Zubeen Garg died in Singapore on Sep 19 at the age of 52. He had been in the country to perform at the Northeast India Festival when police received a call for assistance at St John’s Island, where the singer was said to have had a medical emergency while he had been swimming.

The 52-year-old Mr Garg was unconscious when he was brought to Singapore General Hospital, where doctors could not revive him.

In the weeks that followed, many of the fans of the beloved performer, especially those from his home state of Assam, expressed dissatisfaction with the results of the investigation into his sudden death.

While initially, there had been no suspicion of foul play, partly due to the clamour from fans, after his body was brought back to Assam, a second autopsy of his body was ordered. Additionally, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was organised to look into the matter, especially focusing on the financial irregularities of the persons who had been with Mr Garg in Singapore.

A judge with the Gauhati High Court in Assam is also leading a formal investigation into the singer’s death.

Several individuals have since been arrested, starting with Siddhartha Sharma, his manager, on Oct 1. On the following day, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta, Mr Garg’s bandmates, were detained, as was his cousin Sandipan Garg, a deputy superintendent of police, on Oct 8.

This was followed by the arrest of Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya, who had been the singer’s longtime personal security officers. It was discovered that their accounts held unexplained transactions for more than Rs 10 million (S$147,000).

Five suspects are now in judicial custody

On Wednesday (Oct 15), a local court in Guwahati sent five individuals who had been detained and arrested to 14-day judicial custody. These were the two security officers, Mr Sharma, Mr Garg, as well as Northeast Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta.

According to public prosecutor Pradip Konwar, ”The court has sent them to judicial custody. No bail plea was moved on behalf of any of the five accused. As per the rule, legal aid will be given. The court has also instructed to ensure their safety and security in jail custody.”

The men were sent to a newly built district jail for their own protection, where there are no other prisoners. NDTV reported that Mr Garg’s bandmates are completing their 14-day remand in custody and will appear before the court on Friday (Oct 17). /TISG

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