Assam Police’s CID SIT on Wednesday arrested Sandipan Garg, a cousin of singer Zubeen Garg and an Assam Police Service officer, in connection with the singer’s death in Singapore last month. He has been remanded to seven days of police custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (Kamrup-Metropolitan).
Sandipan had accompanied Garg to Singapore and was present at the scene when the 52-year-old singer, composer, poet, actor, and filmmaker drowned while swimming on September 19.
This marks the fifth arrest in the ongoing investigation. Sandipan had been questioned for four days by the CID before the decision to take him into custody. He is the son of Garg’s paternal uncle. Following his arrest, he was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kamrup (Metropolitan) district and is expected to remain in police custody.
Earlier, CID had arrested Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser of the North East India Festival (NEIF) in Singapore, which Garg had attended, the singer’s manager Siddharth Sharma, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and singer Amritprava Mahanta. All four remain in CID custody.
“Today, we arrested Sandipan following his interrogation. Since the investigation is ongoing, I cannot reveal more at this stage. He will be produced in court and we will seek police custody,” said MP Gupta, Special DGP (CID), who is leading the 10-member SIT.
Garg had died during a yacht party organised by a few Assamese NRIs in Singapore under suspicious circumstances. Following his death, the CID registered a case including charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, and death due to negligence.
Subsequent interrogations of the earlier-arrested individuals led the CID to add a murder charge. A separate case was also registered against Shyamkanu Mahanta for alleged financial irregularities, after the recovery of multiple seals and incriminating documents from his Guwahati residence.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier indicated that central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax department, would investigate.
