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In the last moments of singer Zubeen Garg, the CID had summoned eight people at the yacht with him. Everyone was to appear before the SIT by 6 October, but no one has responded to summons except one of them.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told a media briefing on Monday that Rupkamal Kalita, who was present at the time of Zubeen’s death on September 19, has responded to the summons of the SIT investigating. Kalita will come to Guwahati on Tuesday. However, seven other people have not said anything about coming to Assam to help in investigation.
CM said that we will maintain pressure on them. As soon as they come, we will be able to complete the investigation. We will inspire them to cooperate with us. Sarma said, we believe that if one comes, the rest will also come.
He also told in the media briefing that some family members claim that they cannot come as the Singapore police is not giving them permission, while others say that if they return for questioning, their jobs will be in danger abroad.
It is being claimed that this video of singer Zubeen Garg was taken just before the accident.
Apart from this, he also said that the Assam Police does not need to go to Singapore for investigation, as the Singapore Police will collect whatever evidence will be shared with us. Our request has already been sent to Singapore, but no foreign country will allow the police of any other country to investigate on its land.
When asked about the fund released for the North East India Festival (NIIF), Sarma said that the state government has released a very low amount this year and I have rejected all the files. The Mahant had raised funds for the festival not from Assam, but from our neighboring states of the Northeast. He further said, “I went to his ceremony in 2015, not after that.”
The Chief Minister said that central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (IT) Department will examine Mahant’s accounts and we have requested them to help them. He said, we do not want to leave anyone and hence we will need the help of central agencies during this process.
Explain that the CID had issued summons to appear on eight out of the 11 members of the Assam Association of Singapore by 6 October. These include Tanmay Fukan, Abhimanyu Talukdar, Debojyoti Hazarika, Rupkamal Kalita, Bhaskar Dutta, Siddharth Bora, Parikshit Sharma and Vajed Ahmed. All of them were on yacht with the singer at the time of the incident. At the same time, four people have been arrested, including Zubeen’s manager Siddharth Sharma, musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, singer Amritprabha Mahant and North East India Festival organizer Shyamakanu Mahant and they are currently in police custody.
Zubeen Garg died on 19 September in Singapore. Singer went to Singapore for the North East India Festival to be held on 20 September, where he participated in the water adventure activity. It was claimed that he died in an accident during the scuba diving.
