In order to rule out any foul play in singer Zubeen Garg’s death during a swimming mishap in Singapore on September 19, the Assam government decided Monday to perform another post-mortem on his remains, according to chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
On Tuesday, a fresh call for a second post-mortem on Garg’s body in Assam surfaced on social media. According to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the state government has chosen to perform a second post-mortem on Garg’s body in Guwahati on Tuesday in light of this and with his family’s approval.
Garg, 52, passed away while swimming at sea after traveling to Singapore on September 17 to participate in the North East Festival, an annual occasion to promote the area’s culture overseas. His death was presumed to have been caused by an epileptic seizure. Over the previous five years, Garg had experienced a couple of these seizures. Before releasing his remains to his companions, Singaporean authorities had performed an autopsy on September 19.
Drowning was indicated as the cause of death on a death certificate. In the presence of a few AIIMS-Guwahati physicians, Sarma announced that the new post-mortem would take place at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Tuesday morning. After the autopsy, his remains will be returned to Guwahati’s Sarusajai Stadium, where it had been taken on Sunday so that mourners could pay their respects.
Around ten in the morning, approximately 85 members of Garg’s family, close friends, and relatives would gather in Kamarkuchi on the outskirts of Sonapur for the final rites. According to Sarma, the final ceremonies would be conducted with full state honors.
Police had previously accused Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma and North East Festival organizer Shyam Kanu Mahanta of foul play in the killing in complaints submitted to many police stations. The state criminal investigation agency (CID) has been tasked with looking into these cases. An organization named Nari Mukti Bahini filed a second lawsuit against the event organizers and a few additional members of Garg’s team on Tuesday. The names of a TV channel owner and a member of Garg’s band are listed in the updated FIR.
Additionally, this new case has been moved to the CID. Sarma urged everyone who had any proof of foul play in Garg’s death to provide it to the authorities, saying, “But since CID is already investigating the case, I urge all to have faith in this investigation and not file fresh cases in connection with this.” In order to get information about the matter from the authorities, the chief minister stated that the Assam government would submit a letter rogatory to the Singaporean government and dispatch a team of Assam police officers to Singapore.
In anticipation of Garg’s final rites, Sarma had earlier declared that all Assamese educational institutions would be closed on Tuesday. Additionally, Kamrup (Metropolitan) district government offices would continue to be closed.
In order to give everyone an opportunity to honor the artist, the cabinet on Sunday agreed to extend the three-day state mourning period that the Assam government had originally planned from September 20 to 22 by one day.