Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (IT) Department would investigate alleged financial irregularities involving festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, who was arrested last week in connection with the suspicious death of celebrated Assamese singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore last month.
Garg, 52, died while swimming in the sea in Singapore, where he had travelled to perform at the North East India Festival (NEIF) organised by Mahanta. Following allegations of foul play, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam Police registered a case of criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and death due to negligence against Mahanta and Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma.
Both Mahanta and Sharma were arrested on October 1, in Delhi and Gurugram respectively. After their interrogation, police added the charge of murder to the case. The CID has also arrested Shekharjyoti Goswami, Garg’s bandmate, and Amritprava Mahanta, a co-singer who was present during the incident in Singapore.
CID officials said a separate case has been lodged against Mahanta for alleged financial irregularities, following the recovery of seals, documents, and other materials during searches at his Guwahati residence after Garg’s death.
“I believe that central government agencies like the ED and IT Department will take cognizance of the financial irregularities of Shyamkanu Mahanta,” Sarma said at a press briefing in Guwahati. “We are in discussions with those agencies already to look into these issues professionally. We want to ensure that no one related to Zubeen Garg’s death manages to escape accountability,” he added.
The CID is also questioning Sandipan Garg, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and the late singer’s cousin, who had accompanied Zubeen to Singapore and was reportedly present at the scene of the incident.
Investigators have issued notices to eight Assamese NRIs based in Singapore, who were part of a yacht party attended by Garg shortly before his death, asking them to appear before the CID to record their statements. The deadline for compliance expired on Monday.
“One Assamese based in Singapore, Rup Kamal Kalita, will arrive in Guwahati on Tuesday. I hope all others will also cooperate. Some are still reluctant to come, but we are maintaining pressure,” Sarma said. “We need their statements to complete the investigation quickly.”
The Chief Minister added that Indian police cannot conduct investigations abroad. “The Government of India has already invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore. Under this framework, the Singapore government will share details of the investigation conducted there with Indian authorities,” he said.
The mysterious death of Zubeen Garg, one of Assam’s most beloved cultural figures, has triggered widespread public outrage and calls for transparency. The CID, along with central agencies, is now pursuing multiple lines of inquiry into both the circumstances of his death and financial activities linked to the festival’s organisers.
