Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday said that the cooperation of the Assamese persons who were present on the yacht when singer Zubeen Garg died of drowning in Singapore was crucial for “joining the dots” in the investigation into the death, PTI reported.

The residents of Assam should put pressure on the Assamese community in Singapore so that those connected with the incident are brought back, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said.

Garg, a renowned Assamese singer, died on September 19 during a yacht trip, a day before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival in Singapore.

The event had been organised by the Indian government and the Indian High Commission in Singapore, with support from the Assam Association and the North East India Association in the country.

A death certificate issued by the Singaporean authorities on September 20 stated the cause of Garg’s death as drowning.

Nevertheless, the Assam Police formed a Special Investigation Team, led by Special Director General of Police MP Gupta, to look into the case lodged by its Criminal Investigation Department in the matter.

As part of its investigation, the state CID had earlier issued notices to some members of the Assam Association in Singapore, asking them to appear before it by October 6, PTI reported.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Sarma said that the concern now was whether persons from the Assamese community living in Singapore and linked to the incident, including members of the association, would come to the state to complete the investigation.

“If they do not come, we will not be able to complete the inquiry,” the news agency quoted the chief minister as saying. “They were the main people behind the yacht trip.”

He added that the Assam Police cannot go to Singapore and take up the investigation there.

“They [those from the Assamese community linked to the matter] are in Singapore, and it is not under my jurisdiction,” he said. “Unless they come there, nobody will be able to join the dots.”

Sarma said that a few of them in Singapore had already written to the state government saying that they cannot come to the state due to some problems.

“But they have the responsibility as an Assamese,” he said. To bring the persons concerned through the law is a different matter, but it will be faster if there is public pressure on them, he added.

“If they don’t come by October 6, we will have to enter another cycle,” PTI quoted Sarma as saying.

The chief ministers also said that Garg’s fans should exert pressure on the parents of the members of the Assamese Association in Singapore to come to the state for the investigation, The Hindu reported.

On Friday, the Assam government set up a one-member judicial commission, headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court, to investigate Garg’s death.

Sarma on Saturday said that the judge would also oversee the ongoing CID investigation in the case.

After Garg’s death, more than 50 first information reports were filed against North East India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and Garg’s manager, Siddhartha Sharma. The two men were arrested on Wednesday and remanded to 14 days’ police custody.

On Thursday, two musicians, Shekharjyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta, were arrested. Both of them were with Garg in Singapore when he drowned to death during the yacht trip.

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