The SIT formed to investigate the mysterious death of Assamese cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore filed its chargesheet on Friday, calling the death the result of murder. The SIT filed the 3500-page chargesheet at the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (Kamrup Metro) before the completion of the 3-month time to complete the investigation. The charges include murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing death by negligence.
The chargesheet has charged 4 persons under section 103 of the BNS (Punishment for murder, equivalent to section 302 under IPC, which means the investigation has concluded that Assam’s heartthrob was murdered in Singapore. The 4 accused of murder in the case are Northeast India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Zubeen Garg’s manager Shiddharth Sharma, co-singer Amrit Prabha Mahanta, and drummer Shekharjyoti Goswami. All of them were in Singapore during Zubeen’s visit to the city-state to attend the Northeast India Festival. However, Shyamkanu Mahanta was not present on the island where Zubeen died under mysterious circumstances.
Zubeen’s cousin brother and APS officer Sandipan Garg has been charged under section 105 of the BNS (Culpable Homicide not amounting to Murder). On the other hand, Zubeen’s PSOs Paresh Baishya and Nandeswar Borah are also made accused in the case. All seven accused have been arrested and are currently in judicial custody.
The SIT had questioned and recorded the statements of around 300 people before tabling the charge sheet today, a week before the stipulated 90 days from the day Assam Police registered the case. The 3500-page chargesheet was brought from the CID office to the court in four boxes. The Special Investigation Team was led by SDGP Munna Prasad Gupta.
Apart from the SIT, Assam govt had also formed a Judicial Commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to probe Zubeen Garg’s death. The commission’s term also ended today. Investigation into another case registered to probe alleged mismanagement of Zubeen Garg’s money is still going on.
Zubeen Garg died while swimming in Singapore on 19th September. While the death certificate said that the cause of the death was drowning, people who were with the singer were accused of killing him because Zubeen’s health condition was well known to everyone in Assam. He was a patient of seizures, and his doctors had specifically advised him to stay away from water and fire. He also used to sleep during the day and work in the night, often recording several songs in the same night.
But it was revealed during the probe that Zubeen and his companions partied whole night before the incident. After that they headed to St. John’s Island on a Yacht, along with some Assamese youths living in Singapore. While swimming near the Island, Zubeen Garg unfortunately drowned. While he was rescued and taken to the shore, administered CPR, and then taken to hospital, he could not be saved.
What exactly happened on the Yacht and on the island are clearly not known, and that is the major subject of the investigation. The SIT also questioned the Assamese youths in Singapore who accompanied Zubeen to the island.
Ahead of the filing of the chargesheet, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma had said that Zubeen Garg was murdered. He had said that the investigating team was convinced that it was “plain and simple murder.”
Lawyers of Assam have decided not to take the case of the accused.
In the meanwhile, Zubeen Garg’s samadhi, where he was cremated, has become a pilgrimage, with thousands visiting the site daily. On Sundays, lakhs of people arrive at the place, light diyas and make offerings, just like a temple. A grand memorial will be built at the place, work for which has already started.