Guwahati: The District and Sessions Judge’s Court in Assam’s Kamrup district on Thursday will hear bail applications filed by all five accused in connection with the death of a note singer Zubeen Garg.
The accused—including Shyamkanu Mahanta and Amritprabha Mahanta—have approached the court seeking bail, claiming they have cooperated with the investigation and that the probe has reached an advanced stage.
The hearing comes days after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Assam Police submitted its charge sheet in the case. The SIT has named five persons, detailing their alleged roles in the sequence of events leading to the singer’s death.
As per the charge sheet, the singer’s manager Siddhartha Sharma and bandmate Shekharjyoti Goswami have been booked for murder, while the victim’s cousin, suspended Assam Police officer Sandipan Garg, has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Investigators said the charge sheet is based on multiple pieces of evidence, including witness statements, forensic findings, electronic data and international correspondence.
The accused, however, have denied the allegations and claimed innocence.
The bail pleas gained significance following submissions by the Singapore Police before the court, which ruled out foul play and stated that the singer died due to drowning.
The defence has cited these findings in support of the bail applications.
Zubeen Garg, one of Assam’s most influential cultural figures, died in Singapore on September 19, 2025, at the age of 52 during a yacht trip ahead of the North East India Festival. Singapore authorities said the singer drowned after entering the water without a life jacket and subsequently collapsing.
Police stated that he was intoxicated at the time and had refused safety gear, ruling out any foul play in the incident.
The news of Garg’s death sent shockwaves across Assam, triggering widespread grief as well as suspicion. Members of his family and sections of the public questioned the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, prompting calls for an independent investigation.
Following the outcry, the Assam Police’s Criminal Investigation Department registered a case and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter separately from the findings of Singapore authorities.
The SIT later arrested seven persons linked to the event and Garg’s entourage. Those taken into custody include North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, manager Siddharth Sharma, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, co-singer Amritaprabha Mahanta, Garg’s cousin and suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Sandipan Garg, and personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya.