Guwahati: The ongoing investigation into the mysterious death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest of his manager, Siddharth Sharma, and North East India Festival organiser, Shyamkanu Mahanta, in the early hours of Tuesday.
Mahanta was detained around midnight at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, upon his return from Singapore, while Sharma was apprehended at a Gurugram toll plaza around 1 a.m. during a journey from Rajasthan to Delhi. Some reports, however, suggest that Sharma was picked up from a Gurugram apartment.
According to officials, both men were escorted by a convoy of three vehicles, including two buses with heavy security, and brought before the Magistrate’s House before being taken to the CID headquarters for interrogation. Later, they were flown to Guwahati under police protection and produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, who remanded them in police custody for 14 days.
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SIT chief M.P. Gupta confirmed the arrests, stating, “The investigation will proceed strictly as per the law. Mahanta was arrested at Delhi airport after a lookout circular was issued against him. The Bureau of Immigration detained him and handed him over to us. Sharma was tracked between Rajasthan and Haryana, and during his arrest, we recovered Zubeen Garg’s mobile phone from him.”
Zubeen Garg, the beloved singer, composer, lyricist, and actor, died in Singapore on September 19, reportedly by drowning, sending shockwaves across Assam. His cremation with full state honours was held on September 23 near Sonapur, where millions paid their final respects.
As doubts over the circumstances of his death surfaced, public anger mounted, leading to multiple FIRs being filed across Assam against Mahanta and Sharma. In response, the Assam government set up a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assured that “strict action will be taken if anyone is found guilty.”
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Reacting to the arrests, Zubeen’s wife Garima expressed cautious optimism: “I want the police to get all the details out of them. Now that the investigation is on, we are hoping the facts will come to light and the law will take its course. All we, and millions of his admirers, want is fast justice.”
