Guwahati, ASSAM — The crowd outside Siddharth Sharma’s house in Guwahati’s Datalpara neighbourhood was restless. Hundreds had gathered on 25 September, clutching placards and portraits of Zubeen Garg, the singer, composer, filmmaker, and cultural icon who had died six days earlier in Singapore.
When stones suddenly struck a police vehicle belonging to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the air cracked with tension. Baton charges followed. In the chaos, as officers dragged a young protester toward a van, he turned to the cameras and shouted: “Zubeen Garg must get justice!”
That cry has since become the defining refrain of Assam’s mourning. It has echoed across rallies, vigils, and social media — where grief has blurred into rage, and rage into a storm of misinformation and conspiracy theories about how the 52-year-old artist died in Singapore.
A Sudden Death, A State In Mourning
Zubeen Garg, one of the most influential cultural figures in India’s northeast, was in Singapore for the Northeast India Festival, where he was scheduled to perform. He had spent the day on a yacht with his band, manager Siddharth Sharma, and members of the Assam Association Singapore. Later that afternoon, Garg drowned while swimming near Lazarus Island.
The Singapore Police Force ruled out foul play, stating that Garg’s death was caused by drowning. But back home in Assam, disbelief and anger took hold.
Writer and cultural commentator Mayur Bora said Garg symbolised “an angst and disappointment deeply felt by common people.” His sudden death, Bora added, “has shaken people deeply. It’s reflected on social media — his death at a young age, under mysterious circumstances, has only intensified public grief.”
There has been no official police confirmation yet, but media channels’ coverage and content creators on social media have driven speculation, with many calling Garg's death “suspicious” or alleging “murder” and “foul play”.
The Assam government quickly announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), led by Special DGP Munna Prasad Gupta, to probe the circumstances of Garg’s death. Four people were arrested soon after: festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, and two of Garg’s team members who were on the yacht — Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta.
The cases filed against them relate primarily to negligence and failure of responsibility under the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The CID later added Section 103, which pertains to murder — a move that escalated public attention and speculation online.
Lawyer Angshuman Borah, a senior criminal advocate from Guwahati, said the legal process requires caution and evidence-based cooperation between India and Singapore. “The preliminary report from the Singapore Police Force rules out foul play. That is an important aspect,” he said. “But if Assam CID’s investigation finds evidence suggesting otherwise, they must formally inform Singapore authorities through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty."
"Assam police cannot conclude their investigation without officially incorporating what Singapore authorities have stated. Ignoring this would be disastrous for the investigation and any subsequent legal proceedings," Borah said.
According to Borah, the process demands a “careful, legally sound, and evidence-based approach” — one that respects international cooperation and ensures a fair trial, rather than being driven by public opinion or media speculation.
Online, however, the story has taken a very different shape. Within hours of Garg’s death, social media was flooded with reels, videos, and rumours that turned grief into suspicion. Across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X, hashtags such as #JusticeForZubeen and #WeWantAnswers trended.
Clips from Garg’s final hours circulated widely — including a mobile video from the yacht, recorded by singer Amritprava Mahanta, one of the arrested. The video’s leak itself is now part of the ongoing investigation.
Several other instances of misinformation spread online. One clip showed a scuba diver losing consciousness and being rescued, claiming to depict Garg’s final moments in Singapore. Fact-checkers at BOOM Live debunked the video as AI-generated and unrelated to Garg. Similarly, a video showing people administering CPR on a boat was circulated with captions alleging it showed Garg receiving CPR, but analysis revealed it was AI generated.
Another widely shared video on Instagram shared by a fan mourning Garg, which featured audio from the yacht trip, was fabricated by morphing the audio to make it sound as if one person on the yacht said “murder”.
Other rumours, too, spread fast. False messages claimed the internet would be shut down in Assam, prompting police warnings that such rumours were baseless. Footage of Garg’s funeral in Assam was falsely linked to protests in Ladakh, a misrepresentation exposed by fact-checkers.
Scams appeared, too. A fake Google form circulated, claiming to register volunteers for Garg’s “13th-day Shraddha” ceremony on October 1 at Jorhat Stadium. Authorities clarified that the form was not from the district administration.
Misinformation extended to fellow artists. Rumours that singer Papon had collapsed at Garg’s funeral were denied by his management.
From Justice To Misinformation
The volume of false content has transformed public mourning of Garg into what many describe as a digital trial.
Several commentators on television channels have drawn parallels to the aftermath of another tragedy — the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020. Then, too, a sudden death became a nationwide media frenzy. Despite investigators concluding that Rajput died by suicide, much of India had already decided otherwise.
News channels turned into courtrooms and nightly debates called it a “murder”. Years later, the Central Bureau of Investigation closed the case, confirming there was no foul play — but by then, the damage was done.
The conspiracies, however, never really disappeared. Recently, Decode uncovered a Meta AI chatbot impersonating Rajput, which manipulated users into believing long-debunked claims, repeating the same conspiracy theories that had once dominated Indian television.
The episode underscores how internet narratives rarely die. Once seeded, they evolve — moving from hashtags to AI simulations, from emotion to obsession. What begins as mourning often turns into mythmaking.
In Garg’s case, that same cycle has taken root again. Grief, amplified by algorithms, has blurred the line between remembrance and rage, turning a state’s sorrow into a battleground of speculation.
Singer Bornali Kalita, speaking on a local television show, warned that “people are behaving as if Facebook is a court, passing verdicts through fake photos. This is dangerous. Express your emotions, but do it responsibly.”
Retired Inspector-General of Police Violet Baruah echoed that concern, saying, “Unfortunately, Zubeen has also been turned into ‘content’ online. Many are spreading defamatory material or earning money through sensationalism.”
The Assam CID was forced to issue multiple clarifications — including one denying that an image of organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta “smiling in custody” was real.
The rage-filled online justice has also targeted ordinary citizens. A student from Nagaland studying at Kaziranga University was suspended after a video of his remarks about Garg went viral, sparking tensions on campus. Another person, Shivangi Bhattacherjee, faced public outrage and police deployment outside her home after a video circulated in which she mocked public mourning, calling Assamese mourners “uneducated.”
In Golaghat town, a shopkeeper was arrested after a video showed him refusing to close his shop during the mourning period — a clip that spread online before authorities intervened to calm the situation.
Why Zubeen Garg’s Death Hit So Hard
To understand the scale of the reaction, one must understand what Zubeen Garg represented to Assam.
When Garg released his first album, Anamika in 1992, he was only 20 — a young musician blending Western rock with Assamese melodies. His 1994 album Maya catapulted him to stardom, making him a household name. In the 1990s, the titular track from the album could be heard everywhere: at weddings, Bihu functions, on buses, and in cars, becoming a soundtrack to daily life across Assam. The album continues to be popular even today.
“India was opening up to a globalised economy; Bollywood was the mainstream force,” recalled senior journalist Sushanta Talukdar.
“In such an environment, Garg connected the people of Assam to their roots. He introduced something different: rock and pop with Assamese roots. For a generation growing up in the turbulence of the 1990s, his music offered both identity and imagination.”
In early 2000s, Garg expanded into Assamese cinema, directing, composing, and singing for feature films. His acting and directorial debut came in 2000 with Tumi Mur Mathu Mur. Until his death, he was working on his dream film project Roi Roi Binale, which is scheduled for release on October 31.
Zubeen Garg's residence in Kahilipara.
Credit: Pallab Barman
In his last interview with Assamese novelist Rita Chowdury, Garg said that everyone thought of him as family. “He was indeed like an elder brother to all of us. His music accompanied every moment of our lives: in happiness, heartbreak, love or despair. He was both a companion and an inspiration,” said art restorer and entrepreneur Avinibesh Sharma.
That closeness made his loss intensely personal.
Apart from being a great artist, Garg was known for his deep bond with ordinary people. Manoj Das, who runs a small shop near Garg’s home, remembered: “He used to call me ‘Deka’. He would come to my shop, ask how I was doing, and promise to help me financially. He even helped put up the tin roof for my shop.”
“He did not belong to elite or intellectual circles, but to ordinary people, the downtrodden, those struggling in daily life. For them, the presence and influence of Zubeen Garg were immeasurable,” Sharma added.
The Demand For Justice
Among Garg’s peers, the call for justice remains focused on accountability rather than conspiracy.
Music composer Diganta Bharati, who worked with Garg for over three decades, pointed to lapses in care: “From the videos we’ve seen, there is clear negligence. It was the management’s duty to ensure he took his medicines on time.”
Garg had suffered his first epileptic seizure in 2020. He maintained a demanding performance schedule, often working late into the night and sleeping only in the morning hours. Bharati argued that those closest to Garg, his management team, who are salaried or commissioned for their work, failed in their responsibility.
Actor Ravi Sarma, a close friend, raised similar concerns: “Doctors had instructed Zubeen to avoid fire and water. His management was aware of that, yet he was allowed to jump into the water without a life jacket during the incident in Singapore.”
The urgency of a fast and proper investigation is shared not only by artists but also by Garg’s family. His sister, Palmee Borthakur, said, “A fast-track investigation is much needed; it is the ask of the entire family and friends.”
Garg’s wife Garima Saikia Garg, who initially urged restraint after his death through a video posted from Garg’s social media accounts, later joined Borthakur in filing an FIR demanding a full investigation.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced that a judicial commission will oversee the investigation and that both Singapore and Guwahati autopsy reports will be shared with Garg’s wife. The reports are also to be submitted to court.
But as former Inspector-General Violet Baruah explained, cross-border investigations are inherently complex: “When an incident takes place in a foreign country, it is their prerogative whether or not they want to carry out an investigation. The CBI can operate abroad only through cooperation with the host country’s police, under the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs." Baruah added that the Assam CID can also investigate in Singapore but it's a longer bureaucratic process.
In Assam, the case is currently being investigated by the Assam CID.
In Guwahati, outside Garg’s apartment in Kahilipara, candles and garlands still mark the spot where fans come to mourn. His songs — those same anthems of love and rebellion that once united Assam — now play softly in the background of protest videos and Instagram reels demanding justice.
Actor Ravi Sarma summed up the mood within the artists’ community: “People are venting their frustration because they are angry, but we want this justice to take a proper legal course.”