Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said that singer-composer Zubeen Garg’s death in Singapore on September 19 was a “murder case”, not an accident.
Responding to queries on the ongoing SIT probe into the 52-year-old cultural icon’s death, Sarma said at Jamugurihat: “Today, I am not referring to it (Zubeen’s death) as an accident. We have to submit the chargesheet in the Zubeen Garg murder case by December 17. I have given a target that it be submitted by December 8. We are ready from all sides.”
The chief minister’s assertion came three days after he revealed that Singapore authorities had sent Zubeen’s post-mortem and toxicology reports to the Assam Police under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between Singapore and India. The city-state is also conducting its own probe into the death.
Sarma said approval from the Union home ministry was required before submitting the chargesheet since the incident occurred abroad.
“I met Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday so that we get the approval as soon as possible. The SIT will be writing to the ministry of home affairs (MHA) in the next three-four days for approval. Once we get the MHA’s nod, we will submit the chargesheet by December 9,” Sarma said.
The chief minister asserted that the state government’s priority was to ensure justice for the cultural icon.
A two-member Assam police team had visited Singapore late last month in connection with the probe, held meetings with the local police, and visited places linked to the case.
Sarma had earlier hinted at a possible murder angle. One of Zubeen’s arrested bandmates, Sekharjyoti Goswami, claimed the singer was poisoned in Singapore — a statement that sparked public outrage and fuelled demands for justice.
The release of Zubeen’s last film, Roi Roi Binale, on Friday has further intensified the campaign.
So far, five people have been arrested in connection with the singer’s death case.
Two of Zubeen’s personal security officers, whose bank transactions were allegedly disproportionate to their known sources of income, were also arrested.