Guwahati: The investigation into the death of celebrated Assamese singer Zubeen Garg needs to move faster, according to his wife Garima Saikia Garg, who has alleged that the five arrested so far are “hiding the truth”.
Speaking to ThePrint, Garima Saikia Garg, a fashion designer, said she believes Assam Police have the capacity to solve the case, but “intention matters”. She added that she remains convinced that “negligence” by organisers and staff led to Zubeen’s death.
“I think if the Assam Police want to do something, if they want to solve a case, they can do so because they are quite a big force. They can do anything if they want. But intention matters. We are being patient. We are cooperating [with the investigation],” said Zubeen Garg’s wife Garima in an interview with ThePrint at her residence in Kahilipara, Guwahati.
Zubeen, 52, along with members of the Assam Association of Singapore and his team, was on a yacht trip to St John’s Island on 19 September when he died. He was in Singapore for the North East India Festival.
The death certificate issued by Singapore authorities attributed his death to “drowning”. But back home, questions have arisen about the circumstances of his death, leading to the lodging of multiple FIRs.
Subsequently, the Assam government asked the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the circumstances of Zubeen’s death and later constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for the probe.
On 4 October, the state government also set up a judicial commission, appointing Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to submit a report within six months, after he has looked at the “facts and circumstances” of Zubeen’s death.
Five people have been arrested so far in connection with the case. They are Zubeen’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, two band members Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta, and Assam Police service officer Sandipan Garg, also Zubeen’s cousin.
Shyamkanu Mahanta hails from an influential family in Assam with political connections across the spectrum.
The FIR in the case now includes the charge of murder.
Zubeen Garg’s wife Garima, who appealed initially for allowing Siddhartha to attend the singer’s last rites, said that she and Zubeen’s younger sister, Palmee Borthakur, began suspecting foul play after video clips of the yacht outing surfaced. Garima Saikia Garg questioned why Garg was allowed to swim when his team knew doctors had advised against it due to his history of seizures.
“We could see that that was pure negligence. Our Zubeen was—totally—neglected. He was not taken care of, as he should have been. He is not just another person!” Garima said.
“There should have been security and medical assistance from the organiser’s side because they were going into the waters, and they were going far from the shore, but nothing was there on the yacht,” she added.
After Zubeen’s body came back to India from Singapore, Assam Police conducted a second autopsy and handed the report over to Garima Saikia Garg. However, she chose to return it, saying the decision on whether to make it public should rest with the government.
“I didn’t think it was my personal property, and if I had it with me, people would have asked me, and I would have had to answer them, whatever it mentioned…,” Zubeen Garg’s wife Garima said. “…I have the least idea of the law and didn’t know whether I should make it public. So, I decided to return it to society. If it is legal to make it public, people should know from them [authorities] because they know the law better.”
Asked whether she believed the “neglect” in allowing Zubeen to swim was deliberate, Garima said that she suspects the accused are concealing the truth.
“I don’t know whether it is deliberate or not, because they still haven’t said the truth. The arrested ones are trying to divert…. Their statements are always different. We definitely have in our mind that they are hiding something,” she said.
Zubeen Garg’s wife Garima urged the investigation be expedited, saying that more than three weeks have passed since Zubeen’s death.
“We have pleaded for a fast-track investigation because this is the case of Zubeen Garg, who is everyone’s emotion. People are deeply connected to him and want to know: what really happened. So the investigation should move faster,” Garima Saikia Garg said.
“We are eagerly waiting for answers. I request everyone to stay calm. We are hopeful the investigation will reveal the truth,” she added.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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