The Assam Police have added murder charges against singer Zubeen Garg’s manager, Siddharth Sharma, and festival organiser, Shyamkanu Mahanta, in connection with the singer’s death in Singapore, multiple reports suggested.
The CID arrested Sharma and Mahanta from Delhi on Wednesday and produced them before a court, which remanded both to 14 days of police custody for interrogation.
Munna Prasad Gupta, Special DGP of CID, said, “The investigation is going on, and I cannot share much detail. We have now added Section 103 of the BNS in the FIR.”
Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertains to the punishment for murder, prescribing death or life imprisonment along with a fine.
Earlier, police had booked the duo under sections related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing death by negligence.
Zubeen Garg’s Family Seeks Answers
Zubeen’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, who is currently in Jorhat for the 13th-day ‘Mangolik Karya’ rituals, expressed relief over the arrests. “We are all waiting to know what happened to him in his last moments,” she said, adding that she has full faith in the investigating team.
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Zubeen Garg, one of Assam’s most popular singers, died in Singapore on September 19 due to drowning in the sea.
SIT Probe and Political Links
Following the incident, the Assam government constituted a 10-member SIT to investigate the case. Over 60 FIRs were filed across the state against Mahanta, Sharma, and others. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma later directed the DGP to transfer all FIRs to the CID and register a consolidated case.
Mahanta is the younger brother of former Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who is now Chief Information Commissioner, while his elder brother Nani Gopal Mahanta is Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University.
The case continues to generate widespread public interest, as fans and family seek clarity on the circumstances surrounding the singer’s final moments in Singapore.
