Who Is Shekhar Jyoti Goswami? Musician Detained In Zubeen Garg Death Case

Musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami was taken into custody on Thursday in connection with the death of singer Zubeen Garg. The 52-year-old died on September 19 during a swimming incident in Singapore, where he was to attend the Northeast India Festival.

Shekhar Goswami was reportedly on the same yacht trip as Zubeen when the singer died. He was detained by Assam Police's Special Investigating Team (SIT) for questioning the same day the probe team raided the residences of Northeast India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and Zubeen Garg's manager Siddhartha Sharma.

Who Is Shekhar Jyoti Goswami?

Shekhar Jyoti Goswami is reportedly a drummer and long-time bandmate of Zubeen Garg.

He is also a sound engineer, music producer, and computer hardware engineer, as per his Instagram bio.

He was present with the singer during his final moments in Singapore. After his return, Goswami made statements to local media detailing the incident.

He claimed that after Zubeen Garg went swimming, he was reportedly floating face-down in water for a while. He claimed to have approached the singer, turned him, and noticed "white liquid coming out of his mouth and nose."

He said he held the singer's head up and "if I moved Zubeen's head to right, it would droop right, if he moved it left, it would droop left," after which he reportedly called for help.

SIT Probe Into Zubeen Garg's Death

The Assam government formed a 10-member SIT, led by CID special DGP Munna Prasad Gupta, to probe Zubeen Garg's death.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that if the SIT probe is found to be "unsatisfactory," the state government will recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into Zubeen Garg's death.

He said all those who accompanied Zubeen Garg, including members of the Assam Association in Singapore and the organisers of the Northeast India Festival, will be questioned by the SIT.

A post-mortem examination conducted in Singapore confirmed drowning as the cause of death. A second autopsy was carried out in Assam at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on September 23. The results are awaited.

Zubeen Garg was cremated on Tuesday in Assam's Sonapur with full state honours and a 21-gun salute. CM Sarma, MP Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, other ministers and artists bowed their heads and joined lakhs of fans in singing his timeless song Mayabini as they paid their final respects.