Zubeen Garg’s manager, festival organiser arrested, says Police

Guwahati: Zubeen Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma and festival chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta were arrested from Delhi on Wednesday morning in connection with the singer’s death in Singapore last month, Assam Police said.

The duo has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy and causing death by negligence, a senior police officer said.

Soon after their arrest, they were brought to Guwahati and produced before the Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court, which sent them to 14 days’ police custody.

Since courts are closed for Durga Puja, the hearing took place at the residence of the judge.

Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta said investigations into the singer’s death will be ‘’conducted in accordance with the law’’.

Gupta, who heads the SIT formed to probe Garg’s death, said ‘’both have been remanded to 14 days’ police custody’’.

He said a ‘’lookout notice’’ through the Interpol had been already issued against both.

‘’On the basis of the notice, immigration authorities detained Mahanta when he arrived at Delhi airport from Singapore and handed him over to Assam Police’’, he said.

Regarding Sharma, Gupta said, ‘’We tracked his location to Delhi and Rajasthan. Last night, we tracked him near the Delhi-Haryana border and arrested him’’.

‘’We have seized their mobile phones and also recovered Zubeen’s mobile phone’’.

Police sources shared the photographs of both Mahanta and Sharma in handcuffs and behind the bars in the CID office.

Tight security was in place at both the airport and along the way to the CJM’s residence with Assam Police

and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel accompanying the convoy.

The state government recently banned Mahanta, the chief organiser of North East Festival, which Garg had gone to attend in Singapore before his death, from holding any function or event in the state.