Zubeen Garg murdered, charge-sheet to be filed by Dec 8, says Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Zubeen Garg death case takes a new turn

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday claimed that cultural icon Zubeen Garg was murdered in Singapore, even as the probe into the case was underway.

The celebrated singer died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in the sea in Singapore on September 19. He had gone to the Southeast Asian nation to attend the 4th edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).

"I am not terming it an accident. The charge-sheet in Zubeen Garg's murder case needs to be submitted by December 17. I have set a target to submit it by December 8. We are ready now," Sarma told reporters here.

He, however, did not share further details about the case or the kind of evidence that establishes the death as murder.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Assam Police is currently probing Garg's death case after more than 60 FIRs were lodged across the state.

Speaking about the process of filing the charge-sheet, Sarma said, "If any incident takes place abroad, an approval is required from the Ministry of Home Affairs. Yesterday, I met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to get an approval soon." He said the SIT is likely to write to the MHA within the next three to four days, seeking necessary approval.

"Then, we will file the charge-sheet," the CM said.

When asked if the Assam government has released any funds to the NEIF, Sarma replied in the negative.

NEIF chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, the singer's manager Siddharth Sharma, and his two band members -- Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta -- were apprehended.

Later, Garg's cousin and Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg was arrested in connection with the singer's death.

Zubeen Garg's PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya were also arrested after police found huge financial transactions, worth over Rs 1.1 crore, from their accounts.

All seven arrested people are now in judicial custody. They were booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing death by negligence.

Singapore Police Force (SPF) is also carrying out an independent investigation into the incident of Garg's alleged drowning in the sea.

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In a statement on October 17, the SPF said that the preliminary investigations have not indicated any foul play in Garg's death.

It also said that investigations into the death of the popular Indian singer-songwriter-composer may take up to another three months, after which the findings will be submitted to the state coroner for further proceedings.