NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma questioned the “poisoning” claims made by Zubeen Garg’s bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, calling for patience until the viscera report arrives next week and urging Assamese witnesses in Singapore to cooperate with the investigation into the singer’s mysterious death.Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Sarma said the police are treating all statements carefully but noted that the “poisoning” allegation came from one of the accused, not the authorities.
“On October 10, the viscera report will come. So, we will come to know on October 11 what actually happened. But the police’s duty is to note everything in the case diary,” the chief minister said.“Now, why has he made that statement? Is it to safeguard himself or to blame someone else — these things will be revealed during the investigation,” he added.This comes after a remand note revealed that Goswami, in his statement to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Section 175 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), alleged that Zubeen’s manager Siddharth Sharma and North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta “poisoned the singer and deliberately chose a foreign venue to hide their conspiracy.”Zubeen Garg, one of Assam’s most beloved cultural icons, died under mysterious circumstances on September 19 in Singapore while swimming in the sea. He was there to perform at the fourth edition of the North East India Festival, organised by Mahanta.Sarma acknowledged the challenges in the ongoing probe, noting that the Assam Police could not investigate in Singapore and was dependent on witnesses present during the yacht trip to return and cooperate, PTI reported. “Assam Police cannot go to Singapore, so it cannot take up the investigation there. They (Assamese community people) are in Singapore, and it is not under my jurisdiction. Unless they come here, nobody will be able to join the dots,” he said.He urged public pressure on the Assamese community members in Singapore to assist the probe. “Our entire concern now is whether the people living in Singapore will come or not. If they do not come, we will not be able to complete the inquiry. They were the main people behind the yacht trip,” the CM said, adding that a few witnesses had cited “problems” in travelling back. “To bring the people concerned through law is a different matter, but it will be sooner if there is public pressure on them,” Sarma noted.Earlier on Friday, the Assam government announced a judicial commissionpanel headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati high court to investigate the case. The CM said the commission would operate independently while also overseeing the CID’s ongoing probe. “Anyone who wants to speak or wants to provide us with any information relating to mysterious death of Zubeen, they get a platform. Also, sitting judge will have an opportunity to oversee the CID probe, it is a body which will take care of probe, if they find we are doing anything wrong, it will be complete independent commission in Assam,” he said.“Never before has a sitting judge been entrusted with such a responsibility. I hope we will be able to bring everything into the public domain once the investigation is completed” he added.The state CID has issued notices to members of the Assam Association in Singapore, asking them to appear by October 6. So far, over 60 FIRs have been filed across the state against Mahanta, Sharma, Goswami, and several others. Four individuals — Mahanta, Sharma, Goswami, and Amrit Prabha Mahanta — have been arrested and remanded to 14 days in police custody each.
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