Zubeen Garg death: Assamese singer and the flag-bearer of the North East music industry, Zubeen Garg, succumbed to water adventure injuries and passed away in Singapore on Friday, September 19. He was set to perform at the North East Festival on the weekend. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma confirmed that the 52-year-old was not wearing a life jacket and was warned by the lifeguards before he took the plunge, PTI reported.
Sarma also confirmed the post-mortem examination had been completed, and the mortal remains of the singer were handed over to those who accompanied him there. As per the latest reports, there were 17 others on the yacht trip, and Garg “died while swimming in the sea without a life jacket,” the Assam CM revealed.
‘He took it off after a few seconds’
As the enquiry is underway, it was revealed that while Garg was initially wearing a life jacket, but “after a few seconds, he took it off, claiming that it was oversized and he was finding it difficult to swim,” Sarma said.
Among his companions on the scuba-diving trip, Abhimanyu Talukdar was named as the Singapore resident who booked the yacht. Apart from Zubeen Garg and Talukdar, there were four members from the singer’s team and two crew members. Shortly after diving, Garg was “found floating” in the sea as the crew tried to retrieve him. They performed CPR at the port before Garg was rushed to the Singapore General Hospital. Upon arrival, the doctors declared him dead.
Apart from the Assam government enquiry, Singapore officials are currently questioning people present during the tragedy. Sarma revealed that all the people with the singer were Indians and ensured that proper procedure would be followed during the same. At the same time, he emphasised that, “the state have the right to know what exactly happened to their icon in his last few minutes”.
Honouring Zubeen Garg
Himanta Biswas Sarma also announced that Zubeen Garg’s remains will be kept in the Sarusajai Stadium for the people to pay their last respects. Speaking on behalf of his family, he said, “since Garg was popular among the people of Assam, they will decide how his last rites will be conducted.”
Who was Zubeen Garg?
Hailing from Jorhat, Garg was born in 1972 to Mohini Mohon Borthakur and Ily Borthakur. Garg bloomed early and started composing songs when he was still in school. With songs in 40 different languages today, Garg knows how to play 12 instruments.
He is married to fashion designer Garima Saikia and is known for philanthropic efforts for the underprivileged. He had reportedly adopted nearly 15 children to support them financially and creatively. With 9,000 songs to his name, Garg made his big break in Bollywood in 1995 with the album Chandni Raat. Famously known for ‘Ya Ali’ from the film Gangster, he has sung in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Oriya, Bengali, Marathi, Nepali, and many more.