Zubeen's death a murder case from day 1, says Assam CM

GUWAHATI: Cultural icon Zubeen Garg's death in Singapore on Sept 19 has been officially treated as a murder case from day one, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday, setting Dec 8 as the deadline for the special investigation team to file its chargesheet with clearance from MHA."Today, I am not calling it an accident," Sarma told reporters. "As the state's home minister, I get to know what I need to know. Whatever I say, I do so with conviction."On whether that meant investigators had found evidence Zubeen didn't die in a swimming accident, Sarma said, "This is not a new revelation from me... Everyone currently in judicial custody has been charged with murder." Sarma said he briefed home minister Amit Shah on the probe during his visit to Delhi Sunday.Himanta claim in Zubeen case follows reports from Singapore Himanta said he requested speedy clearance from MHA for the chargesheet to be filed. The SIT, headed by CID's special DGP MP Gupta, will write to MHA with details within 2-3 days. "Since the incident occurred on foreign soil, we need prior approval from the ministry before filing the chargesheet." MP and PCC president Gaurav Gogoi demanded to know what prompted Sarma to explicitly say for the first time that Zubeen didn't die in an accident.

"Now, he claims it was murder, but he hasn't told the public how or why it happened," Gogoi said, questioning what he said was "lack of clarity and transparency in the govt's handling of the case".Sarma had previously only hinted that Zubeen's death while swimming off an island in Singapore may not have been accidental, leading the opposition to ask how he could say so when the chargesheet was still to be filed.The CM's statement came days after Singapore Police Force handed over the final autopsy and toxicology reports to the SIT.

Sarma described these reports as "authentic" proof of the cause of Zubeen's death, given these tests were conducted immediately after he was declared dead in a hospital there.Zubeen's friend and fellow singer Manas Robin expressed shock at the CM's statement, saying he couldn't have imagined anyone from Assam would target the icon."The timing of the CM's statement suggests he is not lying. Speaking openly to the public and calling it a murder - there must be some truth in it," he said. "We expect the maximum punishment for the culprits if it was murder." Seven suspects are in judicial custody, including North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and Zubeen's manager Siddhartha Sharma. Four of them were with Zubeen on the yacht that took him to Lazarus Island.

Over 60 FIRs have been filed across Assam in the case.