Assam seeks Singapore’s help in Zubeen death probe

The Assam government has submitted a formal request to the ministry of home affairs to invoke the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Singapore in connection with singer Zubeen Garg’s death in the Southeast Asian country, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

IMAGE: Tezpur people lit candles and pray while demanding justice for Zubeen Garg, in Sonitpur. Photograph: ANI Photo

The MLAT is an agreement between two countries that facilitates the exchange of information and evidence for law enforcement purposes.

“Once invoked, this will ensure full cooperation from Singaporean authorities — giving us access to case details and assistance to bring back the accused and secure justice,” Sarma said in an X post.

The Assam government constituted a 10-member SIT, led by Special DGP M P Gupta, to investigate the singer’s death in Singapore due to drowning in the sea on September 19.

He had gone there to perform in the North East India Festival.

“After the Ministry forwards the request to Singapore, our police team, which is already there, will act in coordination with local authorities,” he said.

During the next few days, ‘we expect significant progress in the next few days, and I do not want to disclose the details right now but the next two to three days are very crucial’, Sarma said after visiting a Durga Puja pandal in the evening.

Regarding the whereabouts of Zubeen’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, who is an accused in the case, the CM said that they have leads on this.

“If he does not surrender to the Assam police within the stipulated time then he will be arrested, and we have already made arrangements for this,” he said.

The Assam director general of police Harmeet Singh said that India has MLAT with Singapore and now the necessary papers will go from the MHA to that country, ‘so that we can seek the help of Singaporean authorities in the investigation’.

“The process has already started,” he said on the sidelines of a programme Guwahati.

Investigations in a different country require a process and “therefore, I appeal to people through the media to continue having faith in Assam police in the same way as they have shown during the last one week since Zubeen’s death,” the DGP said.

Meanwhile, the chief organiser of the North East India Festival Shyamkanu Mahanta, the other accused, in a post on his Facebook page said that he has already informed the police that will return to Assam soon and cooperate fully with the government and administration.

“I have nothing to hide….will answer all the questions asked by the SIT. There should be an investigation at the highest level and all angles must be covered,” he said.

Mahanta said that he also wants that all aspects related to Zubeen’s death should be unraveled as he was “the pride of Assam and someone who was very dear to me.”

The SIT has already issued notices to 10 people, including Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma and members of Singapore Assam Association, to appear before it and record their statements.

The CM had said earlier that a ‘lookout notice’ through the Interpol had been issued against Mahanta and Sharma, asking them to appear before the CID on October six.

The singer, who the NEIF organisers claimed to be their brand ambassador, had gone to Singapore on September 17 and was scheduled to perform on September 20, a day after the three-day festival was scheduled to be inaugurated.

The festival was cancelled following the death of Garg who had gone with members of the Assamese community in Singapore on a yacht trip and drowned in the sea while swimming.

More than 60 FIRs, including one by his family, have been filed in connection with the popular singer’s death.