A second autopsy will be conducted on Assam superstar Zubeen Garg’s body before his cremation on Tuesday, the Assam government announced on Monday evening, citing a “public demand” for the same.
The 52-year-old singer, songwriter, actor, film-maker and one of Assam’s biggest cultural icons, Garg had died in Singapore on September 19 where he was for the North East India Festival. He had reportedly experienced breathing troubles while swimming and the certificate of death issued by Singapore authorities cites ‘drowning’ as the reason leading to his death.
Garg’s death has triggered mass mourning in Assam, along with outcry over his untimely death. This outcry has largely been directed at North East India Festival director Shyamkanu Mahanta and Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, with fans accusing them of negligence and mismanagement.
After multiple police complaints across the state, the Assam Police had on September 20 stated that a case has been registered at the CID police station against Mahanta, Sharma and others under sections of the BNS pertaining to criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing death by negligence. It stated that the investigation has been taken up by a Special Investigation Team of the CID.
Garg’s body had arrived in Guwahati on September 21 morning, and has since been kept at a sports complex in Guwahati for fans to pay their final tributes. The cremation is scheduled to take place at a site prepared by the government in Sonapur, in the outskirts of Guwahati.
However, on Monday evening, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that before the cremation, a second autopsy would be conducted at Gauhati Medical College & Hospital, with the assistance of doctors from AIIMS.
“There has been a demand from the public that an autopsy should happen in Assam as well. In Singapore, they are non-biased. They don’t know any of us. So, a post-mortem in a place like Singapore is actually a form of a blessing because no one can accuse them of being motivated or involved. But suddenly, since this morning, there has been a new demand…We want to conduct this process as the public wants,” he said.
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He said that this decision has been taken with the consent of Garg’s wife Garima Saikia Garg.
“Personally, after a post-mortem in Singapore, cutting the body again is not something I am very supportive of. But since there is a demand from the public and if we don’t do a post-mortem, many will keep raising new questions on social media,” the CM said.
After the autopsy, the body will be taken back to Sarusajai for the funeral procession up to the cremation ground.
Sarma said that Union Minister Kiren Rijiju will attend the cremation as a representative of the Prime Minister, along with other dignitaries.
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The state government has ordered closure of all educational institutions across the state on Tuesday, along with all state government offices in Kamrup (Metropolitan).