GUWAHATI: Assam police formed Wednesday a nine-member SIT to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of singer Zubeen Garg while swimming in the sea in Singapore on Sept 19. “We will not spare anyone,” CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X. CID ADG MP Gupta will lead the SIT, which Sarma said will have “full freedom to investigate the case”.Viscera collected during a second autopsy will be examined at Central Forensic Laboratory in New Delhi. After Zubeen death, CM blacklists fest organiser in Assam The first autopsy was carried out in Singapore, where authorities issued a death certificate listing the cause as “drowning”.Amid growing calls for justice, 55 FIRs have been lodged against four men: Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser of North East India Festival in Singapore where Garg was to perform on Sept 20; the singer’s manager Siddharth Sarma, attached to a Mumbai-based talent management company that represented Garg; drummer Shekharjyoti Goswami; and businessman Sanjive Narain.Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said Mahanta and any group linked to him were blacklisted from hosting events in Assam. “State govt will not provide any financial grant, advertisement, or sponsorship to any event with which he is associated, either directly or indirectly. State govt will also request Union govt not to extend any financial assistance or sponsorship to him in any manner,” the CM said.In Guwahati, fans gathered outside Narain’s office as he addressed a press conference denying all allegations. Narain, who had travelled to Singapore, said he went to see Garg after being informed by Mahanta that the singer had met with an accident.At Gauhati high court, advocate Sandeep Chamaria filed a PIL seeking transfer of the case to CBI with court monitoring, arguing possible lapses in security for the singer in Singapore. The plea will be heard Nov 10.The singer’s wife Garima Saikia Garg vowed to complete his unfinished Assamese musical film ‘Roi Roi Binale’, which he produced and had scheduled for an Oct 31 release. “His own voice dubbing remained unfinished. Perhaps we will not hear his voice in the film,” she said.On the investigation, Garima expressed faith in the govt and the law.(With inputs from Kangkan Kalita)
