Two senior officers of the Assam Police reached Singapore on Monday (October 20, 2025) to investigate the death of singer Zubeen Garg in the island nation last month, officials said.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Assam Police is at present probing Garg’s death case after more than 60 FIRs were lodged across the State.

According to a senior official, CID Special DGP Munna Prasad Gupta and Titabor Co-District SP Tarun Goel have reached Singapore in a flight from Guwahati. Mr. Gupta is heading the nine-member SIT, while Mr. Goel is a member of it.

The two SIT members will visit the “place of occurrence where Garg had breathed his last”, another official said. “Linking the series of events with the place of occurrence is one of the most important aspects of the entire investigation process. Besides, the Assam Police team will sit with their counterparts in Singapore to discuss the case,” he said.

The celebrated singer died under mysterious circumstances in Singapore on September 19 while swimming in the sea. He had gone to the Southeast Asian nation to attend the 4th edition of the North East India Festival.

The SIT is also likely to meet the yacht pilot and attendant to know the exact details of the incident, the official said. “They are likely to visit the five-star hotel where Garg had stayed. It will try to examine every angle of the case,” he said.

The Indian government had earlier invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore, seeking cooperation in the investigation into the death of the singer. The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is also carrying out an independent investigation into the incident.

In a statement on October 17, the SPF said that the preliminary investigations have not indicated any foul play in Garg’s death. It also said that investigations into the death of the popular Indian singer-songwriter-composer may take up to another three months, after which the findings will be submitted to the State Coroner for further proceedings.

The Assam Police has interrogated 10 Assamese expats from Singapore out of 11, against whom summonses were issued, while the remaining one is a citizen of the Southeast Asian nation.

A yacht was booked by a few office bearers of the Assam Association Singapore, and these 11 people were present when Garg allegedly drowned in the sea.

Earlier, North East India Festival’s chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, the singer’s manager Siddharth Sharma, and his two band members — Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta — were apprehended.

Later, Garg’s cousin and Assam Police DSP Sandipan Garg was arrested in connection with the singer’s death in Singapore in September.

Zubeen Garg’s PSOs Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya were also arrested after police found huge financial transactions, worth over ₹1.1 crore, in their accounts.

All seven arrested people are now in judicial custody. They were booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing death by negligence.

GUWAHATI

The opening ceremony for the Women’s ODI World Cup has been toned down as Assam continues to mourn the death of iconic singer-composer Zubeen Garg, the Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Devajit Saikia said on Friday (September 26, 2025).

The inaugural match between co-hosts India and Sri Lanka would be held on September 30 at Guwahati’s Barsapara cricket stadium, one of five where the tournament will be held till November 2. The other venues are Indore, Navi Mumbai, and Visakhapatnam in India, and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

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Addressing journalists along with Assam Cricket Association (ACA) Secretary Tridib Konwar at Barsapara, Mr Saikia said the BCCI and ACA had grand plans for the opening ceremony before September 19, the day Garg died in Singapore under mysterious circumstances.

“We decided to cut the frills and make it a solemn 40-minute programme dedicated to the legendary Zubeen Garg. Renowned playback singer Shreya Ghosal is also scheduled to sing as a tribute to Garg during the break of the inaugural match,” Mr Saikia said.

He also said the ACA purchased 5,000 tickets, priced ₹100 each, to be distributed to Garg fans on a first-come-first-serve basis. These tickets would be available at the Guwahati Sports Association office in the Nehru Stadium complex on September 29.

“The World Cup, the biggest international cricket tournament to be held in Guwahati, is expected to generate interest in cricket among girls across the northeast. Popularising the game in smaller urban centres and remote areas is the motive behind the BCCI’s decision to gradually move marquee matches to non-tier 1 cities,” Mr Saikia said, adding that Navi Mumbai was chosen as a venue specifically for logistical reasons.

He also said the BCCI has invited all the captains of the Indian women’s cricket teams since 1975 for the inaugural match. “We plan to felicitate them for representing the country and encouraging girls to take up cricket professionally,” he said.

The former Team India skippers who have confirmed their participation are Shubhangi Kuklarni, Nilima Joglekar, Sandhya Agarwal, Mamatha Maben, Shantha Rangaswamy, Purnima Rau, Chandrakanta Kaul, Anju Jain, Pramila Bhatt, Anjum Chopra, and Mithali Raj.

West Bengal’s Rumeli Dhar and Jhulan Goswami are expected to attend any of the four other matches to be hosted in Guwahati.

Neetu David, the second Indian woman cricketer to be inducted into the International Cricket Council Hall of Fame after Diana Edulji, will also be felicitated during the inaugural match.