The death of Indian singer and actor Zubeen Garg in Singapore has sparked public anger and political turmoil in his home state of Assam, where the government faces mounting pressure to explain the unclear circumstances surrounding the death of one of the region's most beloved cultural figures.
Garg, 52, was in Singapore to perform at the Northeast India Festival when he collapsed during a yacht outing on 19 September. Police received a call for assistance at St John's Island, where officers found the singer unconscious. He was taken to Singapore General Hospital but could not be revived.
Garg's body was cremated with full state honours on 23 September at Kamarkuchi village near Guwahati. Before the cremation, his remains lay in state for two days at the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex, where thousands of fans and dignitaries paid their respects. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called the farewell “the final goodbye to the legend”, and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi described Garg as the “Kohinoor of Assamese culture”.
An initial post-mortem in Singapore concluded that Garg had died by drowning, but amid public scepticism, the Assam government ordered a second autopsy at Gauhati Medical College. A judicial inquiry led by a sitting judge of the Gauhati High Court and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) were also formed to investigate possible foul play and financial irregularities among those who accompanied Garg to Singapore.
In the weeks since the SIT was formed, several arrests have been made: Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, bandmates Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta, and deputy superintendent of police Sandipan Garg, the singer’s cousin. Two of Garg’s long-time personal security officers were also arrested after investigators found unexplained transactions of over Rs 10m (£84,959) in their accounts.
Goswami alleged that during Garg’s final moments he was “gasping for breath and frothing at the mouth and nose”, which Sharma dismissed as “acid reflux”. In a statement, Sharma said he was not running away but feared for his safety, while Mahanta maintained that the yacht trip took place without his team’s knowledge.
