Staff Reporter
Guwahati: At the end of a long wait, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the death of cultural icon Zubeen Garg submitted an over 12,000-page charge sheet, including documents, at the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Guwahati on Friday. Murder charges have been invoked against four of the seven arrested in the case that has been in the limelight since Zubeen’s mysterious and untimely death in Singapore on September 19, 2025.
Four of the accused have been slapped with murder charges under Section 103 (1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). They are Siddharth Sharma, Shyamkanu Mahanta, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta. Section 103 (1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 deals with the punishment for murder, stating that anyone who commits murder shall face the death penalty, life imprisonment, and a fine.
The charge sheet was brought to the court in four trunks by nine members of the SIT in six vehicles, an indication of the scale of the investigation that has unfolded since the team began its work after the Assam government entrusted the probe into the singer’s death to the SIT, led by Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta.
Zubeen Garg, Assam’s iconic singer, musician, filmmaker and actor, died under mysterious circumstances in Singapore on September 19, while swimming in the sea on a yacht trip organized by members of the Assam Association, Singapore. Zubeen had gone there to attend the 4th edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).
After filing the charge sheet, SDGP Gupta informed the media, “You’re aware of the case no. 18/2025. In this case, the SIT today submitted the charge sheet before the court. The accused and the sections of BNS under which they have been charged are—accused Siddharth Sharma under Sections 3(6) / 3(7) / 3(8) (common intention, etc.), Section 61(2) (Criminal Conspiracy), Section 103 (1) (Murder) and for financial irregularities Section 316(5) (Criminal Breach of Trust); secondly, Shyamkanu Mahanta under Sections 3(6) / 3(7) / 3(8), Section 61(2) (Criminal Conspiracy), Section 103(1) (Murder), Section 308(2) (Extortion), Section 318(4) (Cheating), and Section 238 (Destruction of Evidence); Shekhar Jyoti Goswami under Sections 3(6) / 3(7) / 3(8), Section 61(2) (Criminal Conspiracy), Section 103(1) (Murder) and Section 316(5) (Criminal Breach of Trust) for financial irregularities; Amritprava Mahanta Sections 3(6) / 3(7) / 3(8), Section 61(2) (Criminal Conspiracy), Section 103(1) (Murder) and Section 238 (Destruction of Evidence); Sandipan Garg accused under Section 105 BNS (Culpable Homicide not Amounting to Murder); Nandeswar Bora Section 61(2) (Criminal Conspiracy) and Section 316(5) (Criminal Breach of Trust); and Paresh Baishya Section 61(2) (Criminal Conspiracy) and Section 316(5) (Criminal Breach of Trust)”.
“The details are in the charge sheet filed today. The main charge sheet comprises 2,500 pages, and there are attached documents, digital documents, etc., which, if counted together, will come to more than 12,000 pages. Our SIT is a team that included several investigators. The findings from the Singapore investigation have been placed before the court. 19/2025 was filed for a separate reason, an investigation into which is going on,” SIT chief MP Gupta declared while responding to questions.
SDGP Gupta had earlier said that seven arrests have been made in connection with the case, including the chief organiser of the festival, Shyamkanu Mahanta, and over 300 witnesses examined.
It needs to be mentioned that Siddharth Sharma was Zubeen’s manager, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta were part of Zubeen’s band, while Sandipan Garg is Zubeen’s cousin and also a police officer. All of them were in Singapore with Zubeen and aboard the yacht when the ghastly incident resulting in Zubeen’s death took place. Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya were assigned as PSOs of Zubeen.
The lives of people across Assam were thrown into a tumult after Zubeen died suddenly and mysteriously while swimming in the sea in Singapore on September 19. A sea of people accompanied the hearse in which Zubeen was brought home from Guwahati’s LGBI Airport. Such a scene was unprecedented for any artiste anywhere in the world.
Also Read: “Chargesheet in Zubeen Garg Case Around 2,500 Pages”: Says SDGP Munna Prasad Gupta