Zubeen Garg, a celebrated Bollywood and Assamese singer, died on September 19. The Assam government has approved the allotment of 10 bigha (approx 6.2 acres) land in Kamarkuchi near Guwahati, where the government will construct a memorial for the singer. The last rites of Zubeen will be performed on September 23 at the same location. The decision was taken after discussions with the late singer's family.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed that the funeral will take place at Kamarkuchi village in Sonapur and announced that the state government will also construct a memorial for the cultural icon at the site.
However, Zubeen Garg's body will be taken to Guwahati Medical College for a second autopsy at 7 AM, and around 9 AM, they will bring him back for the funeral procession.
Earlier, Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu had stated that discussions were held with the family regarding the cremation site.
"Today morning, after the arrival of the singer's mortal remains at home, we discussed with the family to determine their preferences for cremation. There were two options, Jorhat and Guwahati. We discussed the preferred locations in both places. After the discussion, they requested that it would be convenient for them to organise the cremation in the vicinity of Guwahati. We will report this to the Chief Minister of Assam," he said.
Zubeen Garg's Body Kept For Public Homage
The mortal remains of Zubeen Garg are currently kept at the Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex in Sarusajai for fans and well-wishers to pay their respects.
Huge crowds gathered at the venue after the Chief Minister announced the arrangement. Following the turnout, CM Sarma later said the stadium would remain open all night.
Taking to X, he wrote: "More and more people wish to see our beloved Zubeen one last time, and we deeply understand these sentiments. Therefore, Bhogeswar Baruah Stadium will remain open throughout the night today for the public to pay their respects to Zubeen. Tomorrow also, the mortal remains of Zubeen will be kept at Sarusajai for people to offer their homage."
The Assam government has declared three days of state mourning. During this period, no official entertainment, ceremonial programmes, or public celebrations will take place.
Who Was Zubeen Garg?
Zubeen Garg was one of Assam's most popular cultural icons, known for his songs in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi. He rose to nationwide fame with the hit track Ya Ali from the film Gangster and went on to deliver several other popular numbers, including Dil Tu Hi Bataa from Krrish 3.
Garg had also worked extensively in Assamese films as a singer, actor and director. Some of his hits included Kanchanjunga, Mission China, Dinabandhu and Mon Jai.
In 2022, he sustained a minor head injury after falling unconscious at a resort in Dibrugarh. He was later flown to Guwahati in an air ambulance and treated at a private super-speciality hospital.
How Did Zubeen Garg Die?
Initial reports suggested that Zubeen Garg died while scuba diving. A representative of the North East India Festival in Singapore told NDTV, "It is with deep sadness that we share the news of Zubeen Garg's passing."
"While scuba diving, he experienced breathing difficulties and was immediately given CPR before being rushed to Singapore General Hospital. Despite efforts to save him, he was declared deceased in the ICU around 2.30 pm IST," Anuj Kumar Boruah said.
However, fresh details have since emerged suggesting otherwise.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the singer died while swimming in the sea without a life jacket. According to PTI, Sarma said, "Zubeen died while swimming without a life jacket," adding that Singapore authorities will question the people who had accompanied the singer for swimming.
Sarma also said there is a video in which Zubeen Garg is seen jumping into the sea from a yacht wearing a life jacket. "After the 1.26 mark in the video, Zubeen Garg can be seen returning to the yacht. According to reports, he jumped into the sea for the second time, but after taking off the life jacket, saying it was uncomfortable swimming with the life jacket on," the Chief Minister added.
Moments later, Garg was found floating in the sea, unresponsive. He was rushed to Singapore General Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead around 2:30 pm Indian time. An autopsy will be conducted tomorrow.
The organisers of the North East India Festival also issued a statement underlining that they were unaware of the yacht visit before the accident.
The statement read, "Earlier today, our entire team was engaged in a business meeting with senior Singaporean industrialists and policymakers at the Shangri-La Hotel to facilitate investments in Northeast India. During the meeting, we received a call from Zubeen's manager informing us that he had met with an accident and had been rushed to Singapore General Hospital. We later learned that a few members of the local Assamese community had taken him on a yacht visit, of which we had no prior knowledge," the statement further read.
