Guwahati: The Assam Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is making more headway in its investigation into the death of famous musician Zubeen Garg. On Tuesday, two more Assamese NRIs from Singapore came forward to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to give their testimony.
The total number of Assamese NRIs who have joined the probe in Guwahati has now increased to seven. Four more are likely to come in the next few days.
“Today, Abhimanyu Talukdar and Tanmoy Phukan came from Singapore and met with the CID. “Their questioning is going on, and statements related to the case have been recorded,” said M.P. Gupta, the head of the 10-member SIT looking into the matter.
The CID has filed a murder, criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and death due to carelessness case after Garg died too soon on September 19 while swimming in the sea during a yacht party in Singapore for some Assamese NRIs.
Seven NRIs gave their testimony, and four are still waiting.
Officials said that eight NRIs were on the yacht when Garg drowned, but three others were not there. The SIT had called all eleven of them back to Assam to help with the investigation.
Seven have now followed the rules since Talukdar and Phukan arrived. Five other people had already given statements, which helped to explain what happened before the singer died.
Famous People Briefed on Progress
The SIT also met with a number of important people from Assam on Tuesday to talk about how the case was going. Twenty people were asked to come, but only six did.
“We are very worried, just like everyone else in Assam, and we want the case to go in the right direction so that no one who is responsible for Garg’s death goes unpunished.” Actor Pranjal Saikia claimed after the meeting, “We were told that the chargesheet would be filed on time.”
Sources say that the SIT didn’t provide any information on the two autopsies (one in Singapore and one in Guwahati) or the viscera test report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Delhi.
Singaporean officials want to know more about the Assam SIT’s visit.
The Singapore Police have officially asked the Assam Police for information about the SIT team that planned to enter the country to gather evidence and conduct an on-site investigation. This is a major step forward.
The Assam Police had already asked for permission to come and look into the issue on foreign soil through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between India and Singapore.
“As soon as we get the green light from the authorities in Singapore, our team will go there.” DGP Gupta stated on Monday, “We also asked for more information about the case and hope to get it soon.”
Reports say that the Singapore Police are doing their own investigation into the incident at the same time and have already shared their first results with the Indian Police.
So far, seven people have been arrested.
The CID has detained seven people so far in connection with the case, such as:
Shyamkanu Mahanta is in charge of putting on the North East India Festival (NEIF).
Siddharth Sharma is Garg’s manager.
Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, a bandmate,
Amritprava Mahanta is a singer, and
Sandipan Garg, Garg’s cousin, is an officer in the Assam Police Service (APS).
The CID later arrested two of Garg’s personal security officers (PSOs), Paresh Baishya and Nandeswar Bora, for financial wrongdoing. They uncovered substantial amounts of the singer’s money in their bank accounts, even though they weren’t in Singapore when he died.
The CID is also looking into claims of financial wrongdoing connected to Mahanta, who was a crucial figure in putting together the Singapore event.
The Case’s Background
Zubeen Garg went to Singapore to take part in the North East India Festival (NEIF), which is an annual event that celebrates the art and culture of the region. He went to a yacht party with friends and other Assamese NRIs when he was there. Garg is said to have passed out while swimming at this event and later died at a nearby hospital.
His tragic death has shocked and saddened many people in the Northeast. Fans and family members are calling for justice and a full inquiry.