Garima Garg alleges conspiracy, negligence by festival organisers in singer's death
Garima Saikia Garg has raised allegations against Zubeen Garg’s manager and Northeast India Festival organisers, citing inconsistencies, lack of agreements, & negligence
Garima Saikia Garg during cremation of late singer Zubeen Garg
Guwahati, Dec 31: Garima Saikia Garg, wife of cultural icon Zubeen Garg, has levelled a series of allegations against Zubeen’s manager Siddharth Sharma and chief organizer of Northeast India Festival Shyamkanu Mahanta, accusing them of manipulation, negligence and conspiracy in the events leading to her husband’s death.
Garima, in a social media post on Tuesday, highlighted lapses and inconsistencies in Zubeen’s travel and accommodation arrangement in Singapore where the singer went to perform for the Northeast India Festival.
Zubeen Garg had died in Singapore on September 19 while swimming in the sea.
Garima said that she had gone through the chargesheet submitted to the court by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Assam Police which, according to her, has raised many disturbing questions. The chargesheet has named all the seven arrested as accused of which four were charged with murder.
Garima in her social media post also questioned why there were so many inconsistencies in the plan and the manner in which things were handled during Singapore tour.
She also expressed surprise over the absence of a formal agreement between Zubeen and the organizer of the event Shyamkanu Mahanta.
Garima also questioned why and how a farewell tour of Zubeen Garg titled “one last tour” for 10 cities was being planned without even the singer’s knowledge.
“Why would Zubeen decide not to perform in live shows anymore? We know Zubeen would have never taken such a decision. After going through the chargesheet, I came to know that Siddharth had charged an increased amount of honorarium from Bihu committees under the pretext that Zubeen would be performing live last time this season. However, there was no mention about the amount in the records. Under such a situation, question remains as to what was the reason behind the absence of any written agreement between Zubeen Garg and Shyamkanu Mahanta,” she said.
She also questioned the role of the members of the Assam Association, Singapore vis-a-vis providing immediate medical assistance to Zubeen in Singapore.
“We have seen in the video that Zubeen was left neglected. A person who has seizure issues was intoxicated and taken to the sea for a long time and was even allowed to swim without a life jacket and that too unattended. This is a crime,” she stated.
She further added that a fast-track court should be set up to try the case on a daily basis. Since there are more than 300 witnesses, it may otherwise take a lot of time to record their statements.
“Justice delayed is justice denied! We also request the State Government to create a strong team of public prosecutors,” she added.