Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday, November 25, said singer Zubeen Garg’s death in Singapore was not an accident but a ‘murder’. The state government is now proceeding with an investigation based on multiple BNS sections.
Garg died in Singapore on September 19.
State cites ‘early suspicion’ as reason for treating case as murder
Addressing the Assam Assembly, Sarma said the government had treated the case as murder from the beginning. He named Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Amritprava Mahanta and Shekhar Jyoti Goswami as the accused currently in custody. “It was a murder case from the very first day. The accused are locked up in a murder case,” he said.
Explaining the decision to pursue murder charges, the Chief Minister said investigators detected inconsistencies immediately after the singer’s death. An FIR was filed under BNS sections 61 (criminal conspiracy), 105 (culpable homicide), and 106 (causing death by rash and negligent act). He said the police were convinced in the initial stages that the case involved murder and was not an accident, which led the government to ask the court to add Section 103 for punishment for murder within two days. Subsequent bail hearings and proceedings have been based on that section.
Centre grants sanction for prosecution as Assam prepares chargesheet
Sarma said the investigation required prior approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs because the incident took place outside India. Under Section 208 of the BNSS, such sanction is mandatory for the case to be taken forward in court. The Chief Minister said Union Home Minister Amit Shah had granted the sanction, allowing the state to proceed.
According to Sarma, the approval will enable police to file the chargesheet on time. He said, “We will conclude the investigation within a period of 10 to 15 days, and we will file our chargesheet before December 10.” The state continues to probe the case, which Sarma said reflects “our emotions with Zubeen”.
