Another Zubeen bandmate makes disturbing claim, blames manager, fellow-musician

It has been a couple of weeks since renowned Assamese singer Zubeen Garg died while swimming near an island in Singapore, but the controversy surrounding his death refuses to die down. While an official investigation is being conducted, claims and counter-claims continue to fly thick and fast, with the late singer's bandmates now turning against each other over his death.

Two days after one bandmate, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, claimed that Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma and festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta may have poisoned him, another bandmate, Partha Pratim Goswami, has now accused Shekhar Jyoti himself and manager Sharma of making a “reckless mistake” by taking Zubeen swimming that day. Both Shekhar Jyoti and Sharma are in custody.

Partha’s charges

Partha has claimed that Garg had been drinking and partying the previous night and had not slept, and he criticised Sharma and Shekhar for taking Garg swimming in the sea though they knew he was a “seizure patient”.

He said they prevented Garg from resting and then took him to the sea “for their own enjoyment”, and said he would never forgive them for this “reckless mistake”.

“The greatest negligence and carelessness were on the part of Siddharth (Sharma) and Shekhar. You two, who stay close to Zubeen like shadows, brought someone who hadn’t slept and had been drinking and partying all night to swim in the sea, fully aware that Zubeen was a seizure patient. How could you do that?” said Partha Pratim.

Also Read: Zubeen’s wife returns autopsy report, says cops should decide on making it public

4 persons arrested

So far, four persons have been arrested in the case, including Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti, Mahanta, and musician Amritprava Mahanta.

The police have filed murder charges against them.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Assam on Sunday (October 5) also summoned two more persons from Assam’s entertainment industry – singer Meghna Borpuzari and actress Vaishali Medhi.

Also Read: Zubeen Garg's death: Bandmate says manager poisoned singer; reveals shocking details

Shekhar’s allegations against manager

The detailed arrest report submitted by the SIT said Shekhar Jyoti had made a serious allegation against Sharma. He has reportedly claimed that Sharma had behaved suspiciously during the hours prior to the singer’s death.

Shekhar claimed that Sharma, who had been staying with Zubeen at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore, had acted oddly. He said Sharma insisted on handling the supply of drinks, and when they were on the yacht, he took control of the vessel, putting the lives of all those on board in danger.

Shekhar also allegedly told the authorities when he was being questioned that when Garg began struggling to breathe in the water, Sharma shouted out, ”let him go” in Assamese. He also alleged that after Garg was rescued from the sea, there was visible frothing from his mouth and nose, which Sharma dismissed as just “acid reflux”, and told the others not to worry.

Another reported claim made by Shekhar to the investigators was that Garg was a strong swimmer who had trained both Sharma and him, and that he was unlikely to have drowned without “other contributing factors”. He further shared that Sharma had instructed the others not to share any videos from the yacht outing.

Also Read: Zubeen Garg's death: Judicial commission to be set up; ED, I-T likely to join probe

Viscera report on Oct 10

Authorities say the claims made by both the bandmates of Garg remain unverified until they can be confirmed with further evidence.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday (October 4) that witnesses could say anything in their statements, and that the investigation would determine whether an accused was defending himself or trying to mislead the probe.

Sarma said there would be clearer answers after the viscera report is released, hopefully on October 10, because the officials confirm that it would point to the cause of death.