Zubeen Garg Death Case: Zubeen Garg, the celebrated Assamese singer, passed in a water accident in Singapore. As per a PTI report, the singer’s manager, Siddhartha Sharma, has been detained by the police in connection with his death. Additionally, the North East India Festival (NEIF) chief organiser, Shyamkanu Mahanta has been arrested too.
The fest organiser was arrested upon his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, while Sharma was detained from his apartment in Gurugram. Following this, they were both brought to Guwahati earlier today, on Wednesday. The SIT also issued notices to several members of the Singapore Assam Association to appear before the body and record their statements.
Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma revealed that a ‘lookout notice’ had been issued via Interpol for both Mahanta and Sharma. They had been urged to appear before the CID by October 6.
Who is Siddhartha Sharma?
Siddhartha Sharma was the longtime music manager of Zubeen Garg. They had been reportedly working together since 2014 and Sharma also became the Managing Director of Zubeen Garg Music LLP in 2021. He also operated a music management office on Zoo Road, Guwahati and is reportedly the owner of several high-value assets. Some of them include a luxury hotel, a water company, and other premium real estate investments in his home state.
The authorities are currently probing into his financial dealings as the festival organisers are under scrutiny too. Both Mahanta and Sharma are facing allegations related to Garg’s death, as they were both present in Singapore the day Garg took the fatal plunge from the yacht. After the celebrated singer passed away in Singapore on September 19, Sharma publicly addressed the claims about his ownership of the music label, including most of Garg’s catalogue, and other works under the LLP he co-managed.
In a statement after his death, Sharma revealed that their record company was the only business relationship they shared. “We have released 20 songs under this entity, with a total investment of about Rs 10 lakhs,” it read. Out of this amount, Garg had invested Rs 6 lakh, and the “revenue from these songs is only a few thousand dollars a month,” Sharma revealed.
“As soon as there is an assurance of my safety and a fair opportunity to present the facts, I will come to Guwahati and place my side before the SIT,” he also added.
Zubeen Garg’s last podcast
Zubeen Garg’s last podcast with novelist Rita Chowdhury has been going viral. Speaking about his time in Mumbai, they spoke a lot about death. Referring to Lata Mangeshkar and Rajesh Khanna, Garg remarked that there is no king in the city. The conversation took an interesting turn when he said, “A king should never leave his kingdom…If I die here in Assam, Assam will remain closed for 7 days.”
While he did not breathe his last in his home state, Assam declared a three-day state mourning for their fallen star. Several natives and Assamese living outside the state flooded social media and condoled the loss of Garg’s life. When his remains were brought to Guwahati, thousands flocked to bid farewell to the ‘Ya Ali’ singer at his funeral.
During the interview, Garg explained how he thought people viewed him. “They don’t call me because they are afraid I will scold them. Rohit Shetty called me to sing a song for his film, but I said, ‘No, I didn’t like it. I won’t come.’ Rohit was like, ‘What kind of man is he?’ Pritam said, ‘He is like this. He is a king. He lives like that.’”