- Assam SIT also found very high alcohol levels in Zubeen Garg's body
- Singapore police reported Zubeen Garg drowned without life jacket and had over four times legal alcohol limit
- Assam SIT suspects Zubeen Garg may have been served a lot of alcohol with a motive
The Assam special investigation team (SIT) that is looking into the death of singer and cultural icon Zubeen Garg has announced similar findings as the police in Singapore, but has also added that there could have been a motive behind the singer being served a lot of alcohol.
The police in Singapore had told a local court there that Zubeen Garg entered the waters off Lazarus Island without a life jacket and drowned. His body had alcohol over four times the legal limit, with toxicology detecting hypertension and epilepsy medication, but no other drugs.
The Assam SIT said it found a very high level of alcohol in the singer's body, but added murder charges because it suspected there could have been a motive behind making the singer drink a lot.
Zubeen Garg died in Singapore in September last year.
"While we would not comment on the investigation in Singapore, we have completed our investigation and we have submitted our chargesheet. It's in court and it's sub-judice," Assam special DGP and SIT head MP Gupta told NDTV.
"We have gone into much depth and we also found that blood alcohol level was extremely high. It was so high that in that situation a person would lose control of bodily movement and his mental faculties would not be safe," Gupta said.
"People who were responsible for him such as the agent and manager, organisers, these accused people failed him," the officer said.
Zubeen Garg's wife, Garima Saikia, in a post on social media said the family's pursuit of truth has been lawful, relentless and ongoing across jurisdictions. She said concerns arose only after videos from the yacht surfaced on social media, days after the incident.
A first information report (FIR) was then filed in Assam, followed by the SIT's formation. The Assam Police's chargesheet ran into 2,500-pages and had charges including murder.
The family said the Singapore authorities began proceedings on their own after the incident, with the Indian High Commission coordinating legal and post-mortem processes. They said all communication with Singapore Police was carried out formally and was not made public during the investigation period.
Referring to the coroner's court proceedings, the family said questions were placed on record regarding safety arrangements on the yacht, Zubeen Garg's physical condition, the sequence of events before he entered the sea, the response when he showed visible distress, and the timing and adequacy of medical assistance.
The family appealed to the central and the Assam governments to closely monitor the proceedings in Singapore and ensure that all facts are placed before the court. Reiterating that they have explored every lawful avenue, the family said their pursuit of justice remains unwavering.
The SIT says their investigation is watertight.
"There are acts of omission and illegal acts of commission. They invited him to jump into the water. The accused persons fully knew the medical advice given by doctors. They gave him more alcohol even after he was drunk," Gupta said.
"We have found how his manager misappropriated a large sum of money from Zubeen's income. He had reasons to act against Zubeen Garg. We have gone into minute by minute happenings after Zubeen Garg landed in Singapore. We have also done an investigation into what happened in Zubeen Garg's life ahead of going to Singapore," the police officer said.
