Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that the Union Government has invoked the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with Singapore in connection with the FIR lodged by Assam Police regarding the unfortunate demise of the iconic singer Zubeen Garg.
Sarma while conveying the development on his social media handle also posted the letter of the Union Home Ministry.
The letter mentioned, "Please find enclosed a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request in original along with a copy of the same seeking legal assistance from the Republic of Singapore in investigation of the subject Case. It is requested that original Mutual Legal Assistance Request may please be forwarded to the Attorney General of Singapore (the Central Authority of Singapore) suitably indicating the requirements of the attached MLA request, under intimation to this Ministry."
"It is further requested that on receipt of response/execution report, the same may please be forwarded to this Ministry for onwards transmission to the Investigating Agency," it added.
"The Assam government earlier formally approached the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to invoke the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with Singapore in connection with the probe into the death of celebrated singer Zubeen Garg," Chief Minister Sarma had said on Monday.
Garg, 52, passed away in Singapore on September 19, a day before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival.
He reportedly developed breathing complications while swimming during a yacht outing. The death certificate issued by Singaporean authorities cited the cause of death as "drowning".
In the wake of the incident, the Assam Police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. The state CID subsequently registered a case naming festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg's manager Siddhartha Sharma, and others, booking them under Sections related to criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence.
The case was filed after multiple complaints were lodged in police stations across Assam by fans and members of the public, accusing the organisers of negligence.
Garg's family also submitted a complaint to the CID on Saturday, seeking a thorough probe. Officials said invoking the MLAT will help investigators secure critical evidence and official documents from Singaporean authorities, including medical and forensic reports, to assist the ongoing enquiry in Assam.
The SIT has already questioned several individuals who were present in Singapore at the time of Garg's death and has issued lookout notices for Mahanta and Sharma. With public demand for justice mounting, the government is pushing for international cooperation to establish the exact circumstances that led to the untimely demise of one of Assam's most beloved cultural icons.
(With inputs from IANS)
