Zubeen Garg’s Death: Bandmate Alleges Manager, Organiser Poisoned Singer

Days after the death of renowned Assamese singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore, his bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami has alleged that Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma and festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta may have poisoned him and staged the incident as an accidental drowning. Goswami, in his testimony under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), claimed Sharma behaved “suspiciously” before Garg’s death and even shouted “let him go” as the singer struggled in the water despite being a trained swimmer.

The Assam CID has arrested Sharma, Mahanta and two others on charges of criminal conspiracy, murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Investigators said evidence, including witness statements and financial records, prima facie supports Sharma’s culpability. Goswami further alleged that Sharma prevented others from arranging drinks on the yacht, controlled video recordings, and downplayed Garg’s frothing at the mouth as “acid reflux” instead of seeking medical help.

In response, the Assam government has set up a one-man judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to probe the circumstances of Garg’s death. The commission will report within six months on whether negligence, foul play or conspiracy was involved. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma rejected demands from opposition parties and Mahanta for a CBI probe, asserting that Assam Police’s SIT is capable of investigating the case, even abroad.

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