Guwahati, March 25 On Wednesday, opposition parties questioned the Assam police, which has slapped murder charges against several accused in the death of Zubeen Garg, following the ruling by the Singapore Police Coast Guard that there was no foul play in the singer's death, upheld by a coroner there.
The coroner in Singapore found that Garg's death was "simply due to an unfortunate and tragic accidental drowning" and that no one had forced, coerced, or pushed him into the water.
Following this development, the opposition parties in Assam, which is heading towards elections, maintained that the "mystery" surrounding Garg's death on September 19 last year remains unsolved, particularly with investigating agencies in India and Singapore arriving at different conclusions in the same case.
Directly addressing a concern raised by Garg's wife about the Singapore Police Coast Guard's finding that there was no foul play, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said that the PCG had conducted a comprehensive and thorough investigation in this case.
Nakhoda said that Garg (52) was intoxicated, and this likely impaired his judgment in his decisions.
The singer-composer drowned while swimming off Lazarus Island in September last year, a day before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival in Singapore.
Shortly after the coroner's verdict, Garg's uncle Manoj Kumar Borthakur posted on Facebook: "Many are using Zubeen's name to sway voters in this election season. I urge them not to do so. Because, during his lifetime, these same people had ignored Zubeen."
Assembly elections in Assam will be held on April 9.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam Police's CID investigated the death and filed its charge sheet before a local court here in December, naming seven accused. Four of them are facing murder charges.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in the state Assembly in November that Garg's death was a case of "plain and simple murder".
Reacting to the coroner's ruling, Congress MP Rakibul Hussain said, "People demand the truth. The chief minister must now reveal whether the murderers have been punished or not."
Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) leader Chittaranjan Basumatary said that the "mystery behind Garg's death remaining unsolved was unfortunate". He questioned how the investigation systems of two countries can come out with different results in the same case.
"The chief minister had asked the people to vote for him only if he could ensure justice for Zubeen. Let's see how he can ensure it after so much delay now," Basumatary added.
A fast-track sessions court was notified on Tuesday to hear the case here on a day-to-day basis.