Amritprava Mahanta & Shekhar Goswami remanded to 14-day custody in Zubeen Garg case
The duo were earlier arrested on Thursday evening, taking the total arrests to four so far
File image of arrested Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta (Photo: meta)
Guwahati, Oct 3: Singer Amritprava Mahanta and musician Shekharjyoti Goswami, arrested in connection with the death of Assam's cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore, were on Friday remanded to 14-day police custody.
For security reasons, the hearing was held at the Commissionerate of Police office instead of the Kamrup Metropolitan CJM Court, sources said.
The duo was taken into custody by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) late on October 2 following several rounds of interrogation.
According to officials, both Mahanta and Goswami were present during the September 19 incident in Singapore, where Garg died under suspicious circumstances. Police stated that custodial interrogation was necessary after incriminating evidence was found against them.
Their arrest brings the total number of people in custody in the case to four. On October 1, CID arrested festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, who are also in 14-day police custody.
Assam Police earlier added Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to murder, to the FIR against Sharma and Mahanta. They were already facing charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, conspiracy, and causing death by negligence.
Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta, who is leading the investigation, said that a team will soon be sent to Singapore to gather additional evidence once formal approvals are received under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).
Singaporean authorities are expected to hand over the original autopsy report directly to Garg’s family. Meanwhile, a second post-mortem conducted in Guwahati is awaiting viscera results from the Central Forensic Lab in Delhi.
So far, over 60 FIRs have been filed across Assam, mostly against Shyamkanu Mahanta and others linked to the Northeast India Festival, where Garg was scheduled to perform. Notices have also been issued to several individuals present during the incident, including members of the Assam Association in Singapore.
The investigation continues under intense public scrutiny, with demands for strict punishment of those responsible for the singer’s untimely demise.