Zubeen Garg's death: Why Assam Police arrested bandmate Shakharjyoti Goswami, singer Amritprabha Mahanta

The Assam Police arrested musician Shakharjyoti Goswami and singer Amritprabha Mahanta yesterday (2 October) in connection with the death of singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore last month.

Shakharjyoti Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta, who were present at the spot when the incident happened, were called for interrogation during the day and later arrested, news agency PTI reported, citing officials.

"We have found some evidence against them. So, to enquire further, their arrest was necessary," an officer said.

According to NDTV, Goswami and Mahanta were with Garg at a yacht party in Singapore on 19 September. The 52-year-old went for a swim and was found floating face down in the water.

The report, citing sources in the Special Investigation Team (SIT), reported that Goswami was seen in videos swimming very close to Garg, while Mahanta recorded the entire incident on her cellphone.

Previous arrests

Earlier, the Assam Police arrested Garg's manager Siddharth Sharma and Northeast India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta in the case.

In a new twist, the Assam Police has invoked murder charges against Sharma and Mahanta in connection with the death of the singer.

The two were arrested in Delhi on Wednesday and brought to Guwahati.

Munna Prasad Gupta, the special DGP of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Assam Police, told reporters that interrogation of the two arrested persons is underway after a court in Guwahati remanded them to a 14-day police custody.

"The investigation is going on, and I cannot share much detail. We have added Section 103 of the BNS in the FIR now," he said.

Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita deals with punishment for murder.

It mandates that whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and a fine.

The police on Wednesday said Sharma and Mahanta were booked under various sections of the BNS for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing death by negligence.

Mahanta is the younger brother of former director general of police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who is presently the chief information commissioner of the Assam State Information Commission.

His elder brother is Nani Gopal Mahanta, who was the education adviser to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma before he became the vice chancellor of Gauhati University.

The CID is currently probing the case of Garg's death after more than 60 FIRs have been lodged across the state against Mahanta, and around 10 others, including the singer's manager.

Mahanta was the chief organiser of the Northeast India Festival in Singapore, where the singer had gone to perform.

Second autopsy

Gupta also said the report of the autopsy conducted in Singapore will be given to the family of Garg after completing formalities.

"The Singaporean authorities also did their investigation. The autopsy report from them will be directly shared with the family as per protocol. As per our information, they have already contacted Garg's family and will share the report soon," he said.

When asked about the second post-mortem examination carried out in Guwahati, the special DGP said the authority is waiting for the report on the viscera sample, which was sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory (CFL) in Delhi for detailed examination.

"Once the viscera report is received, I guess the post-mortem report by Gauhati Medical College and Hospital will be ready and available to us," Gupta said.

Garg's death in Singapore

Garg died under mysterious circumstances in Singapore on 19 September while swimming in the sea. He had gone to the Southeast Asian nation to attend the fourth edition of the Northeast India Festival.

The Assam Police formed a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case.

Gupta, who is heading the SIT, said a team will leave for Singapore to collect evidence and other details related to the case once it gets approval from that country.

"Our team is ready to go to Singapore. There are some formalities to be done. We have sent the request through the proper channel, and it will take some time. Once they inform us, our team will go," he said.

The Indian government has invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore, seeking cooperation in the investigation into the death of the singer in the Southeast Asian country.

Gupta also said they have quizzed Sandipan Garg, a deputy SP and cousin of the singer, who was present with him during the incident.

The Assam Police had earlier initiated a separate probe against Shyamkanu Mahanta for alleged organised financial crimes and acquiring huge amounts of benami properties by money laundering.

The CID claimed that it seized bundles of incriminating documents and other items from his home during the raid on 25 and 26 September, such as multiple PAN cards in the name of the same firm, nearly 30 stamp seals of different companies and government officials, and documents related to several benami properties.