NEW DELH: The investigation into the death of cultural icon and singer Zubeen Garg has taken a dramatic turn, with his bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami alleging that the late artist's manager, Siddharth Sharma and festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta poisoned him and tried to make his death appear accidental, according to local reports.
Both Sharma and Mahanta have denied the allegations during interrogation.
Goswami, along with co-singer Amritprabha Mahanta, were remanded in 14-day custody by the court of the chief judicial magistrate on Friday.
The duo was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Thursday evening after a six-day interrogation, a day after Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser of the North East India Festival in Singapore and Zubeen's manager, Siddharth Sharma, were taken into custody.
Mahanta was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi early on Wednesday and handed over to the SIT, while Sharma was traced and detained in Gurgaon on the same day.
Both were later brought to Assam and are currently in 14-day SIT custody.
Charges of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence were initially filed against the accused.
However, the SIT later added a charge of murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, based on interrogation findings.
Investigators revealed that Goswami and Amritprabha were in Singapore at the time of Zubeen’s death.
Officials said the foreign trip and its timing would be examined carefully to see if it bore any relevance to the circumstances surrounding the singer's death.
Besides those arrested, the SIT has also interrogated actor Nishita Goswami and police officer Sandipon Garg, who is Zubeen’s cousin.
Both were in Singapore at the time of the incident.
On 26 September, the SIT issued summonses to Shyamkanu, Siddharth, and 11 others connected to the case, asking them to appear before investigators by 6 October.
However, the next day, a lookout circular was issued against Shyamkanu and Siddharth, who remained absconding since Zubeen's death on 19 September.
Zubeen’s wife, Garima, filed an FIR with the CID on 27 September, stating that Siddharth and Shekhar, who were with Zubeen on the yacht on 19 September, should not have allowed him to swim in the sea.
She said she was not informed by Siddharth about what exactly happened, despite multiple attempts to contact him, and raised questions about the security and medical arrangements made by Shyamkanu for Zubeen.
Police officials stressed that the investigation is still at a sensitive stage and underlined the importance of corroborating evidence before reaching conclusions.
(With inputs from agencies)
Both Sharma and Mahanta have denied the allegations during interrogation.
Goswami, along with co-singer Amritprabha Mahanta, were remanded in 14-day custody by the court of the chief judicial magistrate on Friday.
The duo was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Thursday evening after a six-day interrogation, a day after Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser of the North East India Festival in Singapore and Zubeen's manager, Siddharth Sharma, were taken into custody.
Mahanta was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi early on Wednesday and handed over to the SIT, while Sharma was traced and detained in Gurgaon on the same day.
Assam Government will constitute a Judicial Commission under Hon’ble Mr. Justice Soumitra Saikia to examine the circumstances surrounding the demise of #BelovedZubeen pic.twitter.com/LAKExK9At0
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 3, 2025
Both were later brought to Assam and are currently in 14-day SIT custody.
Charges of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence were initially filed against the accused.
However, the SIT later added a charge of murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, based on interrogation findings.
Investigators revealed that Goswami and Amritprabha were in Singapore at the time of Zubeen’s death.
Officials said the foreign trip and its timing would be examined carefully to see if it bore any relevance to the circumstances surrounding the singer's death.
Besides those arrested, the SIT has also interrogated actor Nishita Goswami and police officer Sandipon Garg, who is Zubeen’s cousin.
Both were in Singapore at the time of the incident.
On 26 September, the SIT issued summonses to Shyamkanu, Siddharth, and 11 others connected to the case, asking them to appear before investigators by 6 October.
However, the next day, a lookout circular was issued against Shyamkanu and Siddharth, who remained absconding since Zubeen's death on 19 September.
Zubeen’s wife, Garima, filed an FIR with the CID on 27 September, stating that Siddharth and Shekhar, who were with Zubeen on the yacht on 19 September, should not have allowed him to swim in the sea.
She said she was not informed by Siddharth about what exactly happened, despite multiple attempts to contact him, and raised questions about the security and medical arrangements made by Shyamkanu for Zubeen.
Police officials stressed that the investigation is still at a sensitive stage and underlined the importance of corroborating evidence before reaching conclusions.
(With inputs from agencies)
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