Zubeen Garg death case: SIT raids singer's manager's house
What's the story
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Assam Police, probing the death of cultural icon Zubeen Garg at the Northeast India Festival in Singapore, has conducted searches at three locations in Guwahati. As per NDTV, the raids on Thursday included the residence of chief organizer Shyamkanu Mahanta and the homes of Garg's manager and sound recordist. This development comes a day after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma barred Mahanta from organizing any functions or events.
Official statement
Will hand over probe to CBI if needed: Sarma
Sarma has urged the public to trust the SIT and assured that if the probe doesn't yield satisfactory results, they will hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "Have faith in the SIT. They will probe all possibilities that led to Garg's death. If they fail, we will hand over the case to CBI," he said.
Allegations
'Section of people around Garg tried to use him'
Sarma also accused certain people close to Garg of exploiting him for their personal gains. "Your objective is clear. We will find out the details of how the incident took place. A section of people around Garg have tried to use him for their gains," he said. "The event that Mahanta organized... I never encouraged it. We will not fund them anymore and have banned them."
Incident details
More on the case
Garg passed away in Singapore on September 19 at the age of 52. The Ya Ali singer had taken part in several water activities a day before his scheduled performance, and videos of him swimming without a life jacket have surfaced, too. The SIT was formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding his untimely death, including alleged lapses by event organizers.