A 10-member SIT led by DGP M.P. Gupta detained North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and Zubeen’s manager Siddharth Sarma. While Sarma was arrested from an apartment in Gurugram late at night, Mahanta was detained on arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi from Singapore. Both are in custody and are being interrogated in connection with Zubeen’s death in Singapore.
Who all are being interrogated in Zubeen’s death case?
Everyone who had accompanied Zubeen to Singapore is being investigated. The SIT has issued notices to several people, including Mahanta, Sarma, members of the Singapore Assam Association, and others who had travelled for the festival, asking them to appear and record their statements.
Other close associates of Zubeen who have been questioned include his drummer Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, his brother and police officer Sandipon Garg, actress Nishita Goswami, Amritprabha, and Sanjive Narain, a local TV channel owner. All of them were in Singapore at the time of Zubeen’s passing.
Shreya Ghoshal pays heartfelt tribute to Zubeen Garg at World Cup
The 14th Women’s World Cup opened in grand style at the ACA Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, but the ceremony turned emotional with a moving tribute to Assam’s most loved cultural icon, Zubeen Garg. During the mid-innings break of the India-Sri Lanka clash, Bollywood singer Shreya Ghoshal performed a 13-minute musical tribute, blending some of Zubeen’s most cherished songs with the official World Cup anthem Bring It Home. She closed her performance with Zubeen’s legendary track Mayabini Ratir Bukut, a song the late singer had wished to be sung forever after his demise.
Centre invokes Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Singapore
The Centre has activated the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore to seek assistance in the investigation into Zubeen’s death, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced.
This step followed a request by the Assam Government to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Taking to X, Sarma posted: “The Ministry of Home Affairs has officially invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) in connection with the FIR registered by Assam Police into the tragic demise of our beloved Zubeen.”
Family appeals for calm
Zubeen’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, has urged fans to maintain peace and not take the law into their own hands. While leaving for Jorhat, where the 13th-day rituals are being held, she said: “We request everyone not to take the law into their own hands or create any unwanted situation. Let the concerned agencies complete their investigation, and we only hope they do so at the earliest.”