NEW DELHI: Zubeen Garg A Singapore court heard on Wednesday that he was “very drunk” and drowned off Lazarus Island after refusing to wear a life jacket. Singapore police reiterated that they do not suspect any guilt in the death.“He was also heavily intoxicated at the time and several witnesses saw him trying to swim back to the yacht when he went limp and began floating with his face in the water,” Channel News Asia reported, citing the investigating officer.The court was also told that Garg had a history of hypertension and epilepsy and that his last recorded epileptic seizure occurred in 2024. However, it remained uncertain whether he had taken his prescribed epilepsy medication on the day of the incident as eyewitness accounts were insufficient to confirm this.
What the Singapore Police have uncovered
Police told the court that their investigation revealed that Garg and about 20 others on board the yacht, including friends and colleagues, consumed snacks, drinks and alcohol during the excursion. Several witnesses said that Garg was seen drinking alcohol. One report claimed he drank several cups of alcohol, including gin and whiskey. According to the lead investigating officer’s reconstruction, Garg later went for a swim, removing his life jacket. He then returned to the yacht and was heard telling others that he was feeling tired, the officer told the court.“When he decided to swim again, Garg was offered a second, smaller life jacket, but he refused to wear it. He entered the water without a life jacket and began swimming alone toward Lazarus Island,” the channel quoted the investigator as saying.The official told the court that the post-mortem confirmed drowning as the cause of Garg’s death and while some injuries were found on the body, these were probably caused during resuscitation and rescue attempts. The official added that medical tests detected drugs prescribed to Garg for high blood pressure and epilepsy in his blood, without any traces of other drugs.In addition, they said that a toxicology report showed that Garg had a blood alcohol concentration of 333 milligrams per 100 ml of blood, indicating severe intoxication that would have resulted in significant impairment of coordination and reflexes. “From the statements of several witnesses presented to the court, it was clear that Mr. Garg did not have suicidal tendencies and that he was not pushed into the water but had jumped into the water himself to swim,” the news website’s report said, citing the court hearing.However, according to the investigation conducted by the SIT and Assam Crime Branch, the accused include the event’s main organizer Shyamkanu Mahanta, Zubeen Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, suspended APS officer Sandipan Garg and two personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya.The CJI court in Guwahati has remanded five accused – Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth Sharma, Sandipan Garg, Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya – in connection with the Garg death case.Assuring justice, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Another step forward towards justice for our beloved Zubeen. The Singapore Police authorities will meet the Assam Police team led by Sri Munna Gupta, ADGP and Head of SIT on October 21. Our collective resolve remains: Justice for Zubeen will prevail.”Garg died in Singapore on September 19, reportedly after an incident while swimming, just a day before he was scheduled to perform at the Northeast India Festival.
