Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated in the Winter Assembly State Session that he never opposed the adjournment motion in the Zubeen Garg death case and emphasized that preliminary investigations indicate that Garg’s death was not a case of culpable homicide, but rather a murder.
Responding to the opposition’s question, the Assam Chief Minister further stated that he had requested the court to include Section 103 of the IPC along with Sections 61, 105, and 106 of the Criminal Procedure Code. After discussions, the court accepted his request and allowed the addition of Section 103.
He emphasized that this has been a murder case from day one and without the inclusion of Section 103, all the accused would have been granted bail. Today, we have not opposed the adjournment motion in Zubeen Garg’s honor; we support it.
Zubeen Garg died on September 19, 2025.
Zubeen Garg died on September 19, 2025, and we filed the first FIR the following day, September 20. From the very first day, we suspected that Zubeen Garg’s death was not a natural death. We filed an FIR on September 20, 2025, under sections 61, 105, and 106 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). During the initial investigation, the Assam Police were convinced that this was not culpable homicide, but murder.
‘Assam Government Appeals to Court’
Chief Minister Sarma said, “Within two days of the incident, the Assam government appealed to the court, declaring it a murder case and requesting that Section 103 be added to Sections 61, 105, and 106 of the IPC. After discussion, the court accepted our plea and allowed Section 103 to be added. This has been a murder case since the third day. If we had not added Section 103, all the accused could have been granted bail.”
The Assam CM further stated, “The accused, Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and Amritprabha Mahanta, are currently in jail in connection with this case. The Assam CM stated that so far they have recorded statements from 252 people and arrested seven.” CM Sarma stated that Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and Amritprabha Mahanta are currently in jail solely for the murder case. The case has been registered under sections 61, 105, 106, and 103 of the IPC. This is a murder case. This is a SIT case.
Seven people arrested
CM Sarma stated, “During this period, the Assam Police received the post-mortem report from the Singapore authorities and sent it to the Guwahati Medical College for further investigation. We received the final report from the Guwahati Medical College on November 5th. We have recorded the statements of 252 people so far and arrested seven people.”
In the Assembly, CM Sarma stated that the Ministry of Home Affairs has requested the Singapore government to assist the Assam government in the Zubeen Garg case through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). The MHA has requested the Singapore government to assist the Assam government through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), and despite this, Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar spoke with the Singapore authorities.
Sarma said, “The Singapore authorities granted Assam Police permission to travel to Singapore, and we met with the Singapore authorities on October 21st. The Singapore authorities sent our necessary documents to the Assam government on November 4th.”
Zubeen Garg was born in Tura, Meghalaya.
It should be noted that Zubeen Garg was born on November 18, 1972, in Tura, Meghalaya, and belonged to an Assamese family, closely connected to his ancestral village, Tamulichiga, in Jhanji, Jorhat. Although his musical journey took him across India and abroad, he always had a deep emotional connection with the landscapes, culture, and vibrancy of Assam and the entire Northeast. Garg died on September 19th, and the Assam government formed an SIT to investigate his death.
So far, the SIT/CID has arrested seven people, including Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma (Zubeen’s manager), Shekhar Jyoti Goswami (bandmate), Amritprabha Mahanta (co-singer), Sandipan Garg (Zubeen’s cousin), and his two PSOs, Nandeshwar Bora and Paresh Baishi. The court has sent them to judicial custody. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently told the media that the SIT will submit a charge sheet to the court by December 8.
