Zubeen Garg's Cousin Sandipan: Engineer, Police Officer and Beauty Pageant Participant Arrested in Singer's Death Case

Police sources have revealed that Sandipan Garg, the soft-spoken cousin of singer Zubeen Garg who has been arrested in connection with the singer's death in Singapore, possesses an engineering degree and has previously competed in beauty pageants.

The cousins reportedly shared a close relationship and a mutual passion for music, according to investigators.

Hailing from Assam's Jorhat district, Sandipan completed his civil engineering studies at the North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST) located in Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh.

After successfully passing the Assam Public Service Commission examination, Sandipan joined the Assam Police Service (APS) as part of the 2021-22 batch. His career included postings as deputy superintendent of police in both the Boko-Chaygaon co-district and Nagaon district.

Sources describe Sandipan as soft-spoken and indicate he maintained a close relationship with Zubeen. Beyond his law enforcement career, he was known for his athletic abilities and shared Zubeen's enthusiasm for music.

In 2019, Sandipan participated in the Mr. Northeast pageant and was also involved in modeling and acting endeavors.

Sandipan traveled to Singapore at Zubeen's invitation, marking his first international journey, according to sources.

Following Zubeen's death on September 19, Sandipan requested that the singer's manager, Siddhartha Sharma, turn over all of Zubeen's belongings to him for transport back to Assam. While Sharma declined to surrender Zubeen's phone, Sandipan did bring the singer's other possessions, including his luggage, back from Singapore to Assam.

After five days of interrogation, authorities arrested Sandipan in relation to Zubeen's death. He is the fifth person to be arrested in the case, with all defendants facing charges of murder, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing death by negligence.

Zubeen, aged 52, died in Singapore while there to perform at the North East India Festival. He had gone swimming during a yacht excursion when he was discovered floating face down in the water.

Sandipan was present on the yacht with Zubeen at the time of the incident.

On Wednesday, Sandipan appeared before a court and was remanded to police custody for seven days.

In a recent Facebook statement, Sandipan claimed he has provided full cooperation with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating Zubeen's death.

The arrests in the case now include Sandipan, manager Siddhartha Sharma, North East Indian Festival manager Shyamkanu Mahanta, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and co-singer Amritprava Mahanta.