Shekhar Jyoti Goswami gives details of incident leading to Zubeen’s death

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, who accompanied the party on the yacht trip that led to the unfortunate and untimely demise of Zubeen Garg, opened up for the first time about the incidents that took place that day.

Speculations were rife about the cause of Zubeen's death, whether he indulged in paragliding and scuba diving or whether he died during swimming.

Shekhar Jyoti Goswami was one of the five members that went to Singapore, including Zubeen, to perform at the Northeast India Festival. The other members were Zubeen's manager Siddharth Sharma, Zubeen's cousin Sandipan Garg and singer Amritprabha Mahanta.

Goswami arrived at Guwahati yesterday from Singapore, via New Delhi.

On Monday, while talking to the media, Goswami said, "Our flight to Singapore was a direct one from Guwahati at around 8.30 in the morning of September 17. We reached Singapore around 3.30 PM (Singapore time), and we were put up at the Pan-Pacific Hotel. That day we didn't step out of the hotel."

"On September 19, at around 1 PM (Singapore time), Tanmoy da and Abhimanyu da of the Assam Association, Singapore, came to our hotel to pick us up. I came down to the ground floor, and soon Zubeen da also arrived. Siddharth, Sandipan and Amritprabha also followed. We were taken on a 15-minute ride by car to a place where a yacht was waiting for us. The yacht took us by water for around 30-40 mins. Finally, the yacht came to a stop near the shore. There were provisions for activity on the water. I also entered the water, and Zubeen da also swam for 2-3 minutes. Once he even took off the lifejacket for a short while and returned to the yacht. I remained in the water doing some activities. At that time, Zubeen da was sitting on the deck.

"Zubeen da again entered the water, which I did not observe. A person on the yacht shouted out to me that Zubeen da had entered the water without a lifejacket and asked me to look after him. When I saw him, Zubeen da was swimming, but he was not wearing a life jacket. Then I told him not to proceed further, as he will become tired. He ignored me at first, but on being repeatedly told so, he understood and turned to go back. At that time, I was very near Zubeen da. When I saw him turn around, I thought it was okay and he would go back. However, after taking the turn, Zubeen da became still in the water. He was not kicking his legs or using his hands. At first, I thought he was just floating in the water for a while. However, after a few seconds, I noticed he was a bit deeper and for a longer time in that face-down posture. At that time, he had not drowned, but his face was down in the water. When I lifted him up, whitish water came out of his mouth and nose. I panicked when I saw this. He also started vomiting, and I smelt beer. Some yellow substance also came out. He had eaten pork, but it was not apparent whether it was pork.

"When this happened, I thought Zubeen da would recover after vomiting. I kept him lifted up but noticed that there was no effort by him to get up, and he was slumping from side to side. I shouted out, and Sandipan and Siddharth arrived by our side. The pilot of the yacht also jumped into the water and took Zubeen da to the yacht immediately. He started giving him CPR; Sandipan also joined in. After around 15 mins of this, police and an ambulance came by water. They also gave him CPR. By this time, our yacht landed at another port. There we saw a medical team ready. Again he was administered CPR and oxygen. Some time, around half an hour, had elapsed by then. I was massaging his cold feet. It was then that I noticed his toe turning blue. Another medical team arrived and took away Zubeen da and Siddharth. After around 40 mins, Siddharth called up to say that Zubeen da was no more.

Today Goswami expressed his apprehension that Zubeen had passed away in the water itself.

He further informed that, following Zubeen Garg's death, the whole party was kept in custody for around ten hours by the Singapore Police, narcotics and forensic teams. "Each one of us was interrogated separately. I was asked if Zubeen da took alcohol, drugs and medicines, if any. My version of the entire incident was also taken by them," he added.

Musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami has been playing instruments with Zubeen Garg for the last 16-17 years.

Also Read: Second Autopsy of Zubeen Garg to Be Conducted Before Cremation: CM

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