Zubeen's Death: SIT Conducts Raids, Tension Outside Manager's Apartment

PTI, GUWAHATI, SEP 26, 2025 : Assam Police's Special Investigating Team (SIT), probing the death of singer Zubeen Garg, conducted separate raids at the residences of Northeast India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and his manager Siddhartha Sharma on Thursday, officials said. Protestors demanded the arrest of both individuals, and the situation turned tense outside Sharma's apartment block, where the police baton-charged the crowd after the mob threw stones at them.

An SIT team visited the Zoo Road residence of Mahanta, where none of his family members were present, except for two helpers. Mahanta was the chief organiser of the festival in Singapore, where Zubeen Garg tragically drowned on September 19. Another team went to the apartment where Sharma lived in the Dhirenpara area of the city, only to find it locked.

A group of people had gathered outside Sharma’s residence and hurled stones at police vehicles. In response, security personnel baton-charged the crowd. The protestors were demanding Sharma’s immediate arrest, accusing him of being responsible for the singer’s death. The crowd also tried to break open the main entrance gate to the apartment block, but a heavy police deployment prevented them from doing so.

When the SIT team members were leaving the compound, the protestors hurled stones at the police vehicles and blocked their exit. Police personnel at the gate were also attacked, prompting the police to carry out a mild lathi-charge to disperse the crowd and allow the vehicles to move out of the area. The police detained two individuals from the mob for allegedly provoking the crowd and creating disturbances.

Earlier, the SIT team broke the lock of Sharma's residence in the presence of a magistrate and conducted a search. Sharma’s mother, brother, and sister also lived in the apartment but were not seen since the day Zubeen died, according to residents of the building. A crowd had also gathered outside Mahanta’s house, demanding his arrest. Local people in the area said they had decided not to allow Mahanta and his family to live there.

The SIT officials refused to speak to the media at both locations. The investigating team was seen carrying bags of documents and laptops while leaving the two houses. Zubeen’s musician, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, who accompanied him to Singapore and was present during his final moments, has also been taken into police custody. The Assam government has constituted a 10-member SIT, led by Special DGP MP Gupta, to investigate the singer’s death.

Meanwhile, Mahanta, in a video — which some media channels claimed was a social media live — denied any involvement in the incident. He alleged that some people had deliberately launched a "campaign to blame and defame us for the sake of TRP." The live recording was not available on any of his social media handles, and PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

In the clip, Mahanta is heard saying, "I and my team were very far from where the incident happened, and we are not involved in it in any way." He added that Garg’s team members, including a cousin, and members of the Assamese community in Singapore were present when the fatal incident occurred, asserting, "It is not a sin to invite Zubeen to the festival."

Mahanta further explained that Zubeen had been the 'brand ambassador' of the festival since 2013, and there are many videos where he has stated that he was a part of the festival. "Zubeen had said on many occasions that we will organise the festival together, and he always attends our events," Mahanta added.

He also mentioned that he had planned to return to Guwahati on Thursday but "received thousands of messages threatening to kill me," which led him to cancel his trip. Mahanta expressed his deep sorrow over Zubeen’s death, calling it an irreparable loss for the entire state and the country. He also expressed pain at not being able to extend his support to Garg's wife, whom he considers "like my sister," during this time of extreme grief and loss.