Zubeen's casket couldn't be sent by special flight, says Assam CM; body to reach Guwahati at 7 am today

Guwahati: Popular singer Zubeen Garg's body is expected to reach here around 7 am on Sunday, with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma saying the casket could not be accommodated in any chartered flight and is being flown to Guwahati from Delhi on a regular flight.

The flight carrying Garg's body left New Delhi at 4:30 am.

''The casket carrying the mortal remains of our beloved Zubeen Garg from Singapore was too large to be accommodated in any chartered flight, despite our sustained efforts for over two hours," Sarma said in an X post. ''His mortal remains are now being flown to Guwahati on Air India Express flight IX 1197, which departed at 4:30 am and is currently airborne.''

Garg's body arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi around Saturday midnight from Singapore, where he died a day earlier while swimming in the sea without a life jacket.

CM Sarma received the singer's body at the airport and paid his tribute. He was accompanied by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and senior Assam government officials posted in the national capital.

Thousands of people have gathered outside the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here since Saturday night to receive the singing icon's body. A scuffle had broken out in the night, with the police resorting to a mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

The singer's wife, Garima Saikia Garg, was seen arriving at the airport early on Sunday.

From the Guwahati airport, the body will be taken to Garg's residence, where it will be kept for around one-and-a-half hours for his family members, including his 85-year-old ailing father, to pay their last respects.

Later, the body will be shifted to the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex for people to pay their homage from 9 am to 7 pm.

Details of the last rites are yet to be finalised, with the state government set to consult the singer's family and different organisations. The Assam Cabinet will meet on Sunday evening to decide on the cremation venue.