Zubeen Garg's Police Officer Cousin Arrested in Connection with Singer's Mysterious Singapore Yacht Party Death

Sandipan Garg has been arrested following five days of intensive interrogation by authorities.

The Assam Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested Sandipan Garg, cousin of renowned singer Zubeen Garg, in connection with the investigation into the singer's mysterious drowning death in Singapore. Sandipan, who serves as a deputy superintendent in the Assam Police Service, was present at the Singapore yacht party where the incident occurred and had accompanied Zubeen on the trip. He is now the fifth individual to be apprehended in this case, according to a senior officer who spoke with NDTV.

All those arrested face serious charges including murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing death by negligence related to Zubeen's death.

This morning, Sandipan Garg appeared before a local court and was remanded to seven days in police custody, though the SIT had requested a 14-day remand period.

Zubeen Garg, aged 52, passed away on September 19 during his visit to Singapore for the North East India Festival. The tragedy occurred when he went swimming during a yacht party and was subsequently discovered floating face down in the water.

For Sandipan, this Singapore trip marked his first international journey. After Zubeen's death, Sandipan had returned to India with some of the singer's personal belongings. He recently claimed in a Facebook post that he had fully cooperated with the SIT's investigation.

Officials report that his arrest came after five consecutive days of questioning.

When questioned about why Sandipan hasn't been suspended from police service, Munna Gupta, the Special Director General of Police of Assam's CID who leads the SIT, explained that the arrest had just occurred and further administrative action would be determined by the relevant department.

Previously, on October 2, authorities arrested Zubeen's bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and co-singer Amritprava Mahanta, both of whom were present at the yacht party. Sources indicate that Goswami was observed swimming in close proximity to Zubeen while Mahanta was recording the activity on her mobile phone.

One day prior to these arrests, on October 1, two other individuals connected to the case were taken into custody: Zubeen Garg's manager Siddharth Sharma and North East India Festival manager Shyamkanu Mahanta.