Zubeen Garg death: SIT arrests singer's police officer cousin who was at Singapore yacht party

Guwahati: A cousin of singer Zubeen Garg, Sandipan, who is a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), was arrested by the SIT of Assam CID following questioning on Wednesday morning. He was later remanded to seven days' police custody.

Sandipan, who was with Garg in the yacht during a party on the sea in Singapore on September 19, was questioned earlier too. The 52-year-old Garg died while swimming with his friends and associates during the yacht party.

Sandipan was arrested a day after Rup Kamal Kalita, an Assamese NRI based in Singapore, deposed before the SIT. Seven other NRIs, who were also summoned by the SIT, are yet to join the investigation.

This was the fifth arrest in connection with the sudden death of Zubeen, an incident that saw uproar and anger on the streets of Assam. Zubeen's fans, who had gathered to pay their last tributes, have intensified demands for a swift and proper investigation to ascertain the reasons leading to the iconic singer's death.

Police earlier arrested Zubeen's manager Siddharth Sharma, Shyamkanu Mahanta, the organiser of the Northeast India Festival in Singapore,  and two of Garg's band members, musician Sekhar Jyoti Goswami and a young singer Amritprabha Mahanta.

Zubeen's wife, Garima, on Tuesday reiterated her demand to identify the reasons leading to his death. She wanted to know why Zubeen was taken to the sea, even as doctors had advised him to stay away from water and fire, as he had a problem with seizures in the past. Garima questioned why his manager and friends did not stop him despite knowing his health condition.

Interestingly, Sekhar, during interrogation, alleged before the SIT that Siddharth and Shyamkanu poisoned Garg in Singapore.