Guwahati: Two senior officers of the Assam Police reached Singapore on Monday to investigate the death of singer Zubeen Garg in the island nation last month, officials said.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Assam Police is at present probing Garg’s death case after more than 60 FIRs were lodged across the state.
According to a senior official, CID Special DGP Munna Prasad Gupta and Titabor Co-District SP Tarun Goel have reached Singapore in a flight from Guwahati.
Gupta is heading the nine-member SIT, while Goel is a member of it.
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The two SIT members will visit the “place of occurrence where Garg had breathed his last”, another official said.
“Linking the series of events with the place of occurrence is one of the most important aspects of the entire investigation process. Besides, the Assam Police team will sit with their counterparts in Singapore to discuss the case,” he said.
The celebrated singer died under mysterious circumstances in Singapore on September 19 while swimming in the sea. He had gone to the Southeast Asian nation to attend the 4th edition of the North East India Festival.
The SIT is also likely to meet the yacht pilot and attendant to know the exact details of the incident, the official said.
“They are likely to visit the five-star hotel where Garg had stayed. It will try to examine every angle of the case,” he said.
The Indian government had earlier invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore, seeking cooperation in the investigation into the death of the singer.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is also carrying out an independent investigation into the incident.
In a statement on October 17, the SPF said that the preliminary investigations have not indicated any foul play in Garg’s death.
It also said that investigations into the death of the popular Indian singer-songwriter-composer may take up to another three months, after which the findings will be submitted to the State Coroner for further proceedings.
The Assam Police has interrogated 10 Assamese expats from Singapore out of 11, against whom summonses were issued, while the remaining one is a citizen of the Southeast Asian nation.
A yacht was booked by a few office bearers of the Assam Association Singapore, and these 11 people were present when Garg allegedly drowned in the sea.
Earlier, North East India Festival’s chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, the singer’s manager Siddharth Sharma, and his two band members — Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta — were apprehended.
Later, Garg’s cousin and Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg was arrested in connection with the singer’s death in Singapore last month.
Zubeen Garg’s PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya were also arrested after police found huge financial transactions, worth over Rs 1.1 crore, in their accounts.
All seven arrested people are now in judicial custody. They were booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing death by negligence.
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