Shock swept across Assam when news broke that beloved singer Zubeen Garg had died in Singapore under mysterious circumstances. Conflicting reports from local media quickly deepened the grief, raising more questions than answers.
With no quote or sound bite from the location, the Guwahati-based television anchors have already earned a rare capacity to kill time with unorganized narrations that usually confuse the audience. Such an unfortunate incident took place recently, when heartbreaking news surfaced from Singapore that shocked the entire population of northeast India.
Zubeen Garg
That incident was the sudden demise of maverick singer Zubeen Garg.
Multiple electronic media outlets presented conflicting reports about the incident that made viewers more puzzled how actually the cultural icon died. Was it a mishap in paragliding, scuba diving, on a yacht or a pre-planned murder taking advantage of the sea outing.
The sadness and melancholy instantly turned into outrage with a genuine question. Why was Zubeen taken to the island nation as he was not physically well for months. Millions of his fans and admirers in eastern India became annoyed when they encountered some clippings of videos witnessing Zubeen swimming in the seawater even without a life jacket, not to speak of the doctors’ repeated warning to avoid diving into a water body.
Netizens also cried foul. Why was his tragic incident not properly reported, even though a group of Asomiya people were there. That included a journalist, a news channel owner, a police officer and many media savvy individuals. They accompanied Zubeen to participate in the 4th North East India Festival, organized in the southeast Asian nation on 19, 20 and 21 September 2025.
The sad news that broke in the afternoon hours of 19 September brought Assam to a standstill. For nearly five days Guwahati turned into a sea of humans – weeping, sobbing, crying and exclaiming why did Zubeen die thousands of kilometers away from his motherland?
Final Journey
The phenomenal singer’s last journey started in a flower-decked ambulance on 21 September morning from Guwahati airport to Zubeen’s Kahilipara residence and then he was moved to Sarusajai stadium driving amidst unprecedented crowds.
Zubeen was put inside a glass-casket for public viewing and homage for two days and cremated on 23 September at Kamarkuchi near Guwahati with full state honours and 21-gun salutes after four days of mourning.
Many recollected sad memories relating to the final departure of Dr Bhupen Hazarika (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011), another widely acclaimed singer, musician, writer, filmmaker and public communicator, when the residents of the eastern Indian subcontinent grieved for days.
Meanwhile, all the newspapers of Assam dedicated front-pages for Zubeen related developments and news channels started telecasting all important updates round the clock.
Even before Zubeen’s last rites, over 60 police complaints were lodged against Shyamkanu Mahanta (chief organizer of the festival in Singapore, where Zubeen was scheduled to perform), Siddharth Sharma (his manager), Shekarjyoti Goswami (a Zubeen associate) and Sanjive Narain (businessman and owner of Prag News satellite channel and Dainik Janambhumi newspaper) in various police stations.
The complaints alleged that Zubeen died in Singapore because of their collective callousness. Facing the unprecedented public outcries, the State government also ordered a probe and urgently formed a special investigation team (SIT) under the crime investigation department (CID) of Assam Police. As the investigation proceeds, Mahanta and Sharma have been arrested and many others face interrogation.
Singapore’s widely circulated and acclaimed daily The Straits Times reported that their police department ruled out foul play in Zubeen’s death during a sea outing in waters off St John’s Island and not after scuba diving as initially reported by various media outlets)
Talking to the newspaper, a spokesman for the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on 1 October stated they have extended a copy of the autopsy report (issued by Singapore General Hospital), along with its preliminary findings on Zubeen’s demise (due to drowning), to the High Commission of India, upon its request.
Quoting Ng Kai Ling, associate director at LIMN Law Corporation, the newspaper reported that SPF’s initial statement could be assumed that they do not suspect Zubeen was murdered or he died as a result of criminal violence. She however pointed out that a coroner’s inquiry could ascertain the sequence of events that led to his drowning and death.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with many politicians, acclaimed singer-film-stars and other individuals mourned Zubeen’s untimely death. PM Modi even remembered him in ‘Mon Ki Baat,’ broadcast through the national radio network on 28 September.
Terming the artist a Kohinoor of Assamese culture, Modi stated, Zubeen’s music will continue to live in the hearts of people for generations. However, many so-called national news outlets ignored the developments.
Zubeen lies in state.
Leaving aside a few newspapers and satellite channels, they took many days to report on Zubeen’s death and its aftermath. But their ignorance and inefficiency were compensated by thousands of digital media platforms, which updated all important developments from the land of Zubeen, who once exclaimed that he does not belong to any caste/community, religion or God.
Indeed, Zubeen Garg was independent and remained free from all kinds of prejudices surviving in our society for centuries.
