Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has directed eight Assamese residents of Singapore, who were on the yacht trip with singer Zubeen Garg when he died of drowning on September 19 in Singapore, to appear before the state police SIT. Sarma warned of “toughest possible action” if they did not depose by October 6.
“Our police cannot go to Singapore to bring them here. We have to bring them through a system. If they don’t come by October 6, we will be as tough as possible,” Sarma said. The SIT had earlier summoned them to appear within 10 days, a deadline which expires today (October 6). They are seen as key witnesses in a probe that has veered sharply from accidental drowning to suspected poisoning of Zubeen.
The investigation escalated after arrested co-accused and drummer Shekhar Jyoti Goswami told the SIT that Garg’s manager, Siddharth Sharma, and North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta allegedly poisoned the music icon during the yacht outing — a day before his scheduled performance at the festival.
Sharma and Mahanta, absconding since Zubeen Garg’s death, were arrested on October 1. Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and co-singer Amritprabha Mahanta were also arrested.
