Zubeen Garg's PSOs Arrested by SIT, Face Questioning over Financial Dealings

In a stunning escalation of the probe into the tragic death of Assamese music icon Zubeen Garg, Assam Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) has apprehended two of the late singer's longtime personal security officers, Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya, on Friday, October 10, 2025—exactly 21 days after Garg's untimely demise in Singapore. The arrests, confirmed by SIT chief and Special DGP (CID) Munna Prasad Gupta, come amid mounting suspicions of foul play surrounding the 52-year-old superstar's drowning, initially reported as a scuba diving mishap but later clarified as occurring while swimming off St. John's Island on September 19. Gupta revealed that the duo was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court for remand, as investigators unearth a web of financial irregularities and conspiracy claims that threaten to rewrite the narrative of Garg's final hours.

The spotlight on Bora and Baishya intensified after forensic scrutiny uncovered suspicious money trails exceeding Rs 1 crore flowing into their accounts—Rs 70 lakh to Bora and Rs 40-45 lakh to Baishya—amounts wildly at odds with their modest salaries as PSOs, according to NDTV reports. These windfalls, allegedly tied to events leading up to Garg's ill-fated trip for the North East India Festival, have raised red flags about possible embezzlement or kickbacks linked to the singer's inner circle. "The financial discrepancies are a key thread in our ongoing inquiry," Gupta told reporters, emphasizing that the arrests are part of a broader crackdown that has already ensnared several high-profile figures close to the beloved artist, whose soul-stirring hits like "Ya Ali" had made him the undisputed "Voice of Assam."

This latest bust adds to a growing roster of detainees in the high-stakes investigation, including festival organizer Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg's manager Siddharth Sharma, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, co-singer Amritprava Mahanta, and the singer's cousin, suspended Assam Police Service officer Sandipan Garg. Goswami, himself under arrest, has dropped bombshell allegations in police remand documents, claiming Garg was deliberately poisoned by Sharma and Mahanta during the Singapore trip, with the foreign venue chosen to mask the crime and stage it as an accident. "Zubeen was an expert swimmer; he couldn't have just drowned," Goswami asserted, recounting how Sharma allegedly delayed medical aid and even urged rescuers to abandon efforts, shouting "let him go" as Garg struggled in the water. These revelations have prompted the Assam government to form a one-man judicial commission under Gauhati High Court Justice Soumitra Saikia, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (I-T) department poised to join the fray for deeper financial probes.

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Garg's grieving widow, Garima Saikia, has emerged as a pillar of composure amid the turmoil, publicly pleading for restraint and cooperation in a heartfelt media address. "I'm holding onto faith—five or six arrests have happened, but the full truth remains hidden," she said, her voice steady yet laced with sorrow. Urging eyewitnesses from the Singapore incident to step forward without fear, Saikia stressed the irreplaceable void left by her husband's passing: "We've lost our icon, our heartbeat. This tragedy must not be twisted into politics; let justice prevail through the system." Her words echo the sentiments of a mourning Assam, where four days of state mourning were observed upon Garg's repatriation, and fans from diverse communities—transcending the state's simmering Hindu-Muslim divides—united in tribute to the singer who blended folk, Bollywood, and cultural activism into anthems of unity.

As the SIT delves deeper, bolstered by a second post-mortem conducted in India at the behest of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to quell public outrage and speculation, the case has ignited a firestorm of grief and demand for accountability. What began as a freak accident narrative has morphed into a potential murder saga, with Singapore authorities ruling out initial foul play but now cooperating via autopsy reports shared with the Indian High Commission. For a man whose music bridged generations and healed divides, Garg's legacy now hangs in the balance of this relentless pursuit of answers—will the arrests of his trusted guards unlock the secrets of his final, fateful swim, or deepen the shadows over Northeast India's cultural heart? The nation watches, hearts heavy, as the probe races toward revelation.

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