Zubeen Garg death probe: SIT raid at manager's house in Guwahati; protesters clash with cops

NEW DELHI: Tension flared in Guwahati on Thursday evening after security personnel baton-charged protesters who allegedly hurled stones at police vehicles outside the residence of late singer Zubeen Garg ’s manager, Siddhartha Sharma. The violence broke out even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Garg’s death carried out raids at the homes of Sharma and Northeast India Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, news agency PTI reported.

Officials said an SIT unit broke open Sharma’s locked apartment in the city’s Dhirenpara locality in the presence of a magistrate. Searches were carried out inside while police forces stood guard outside, where crowds had gathered. According to local residents, Sharma’s family members, who lived in the same flat, have not been seen since Garg’s death on September 19.

Earlier in the day, another SIT team raided Mahanta’s residence in Geetanagar, where only two household helpers were found. His family members were not present at the time.

The Assam government had constituted a 10-member SIT headed by Special DGP M P Gupta to investigate the circumstances of Garg’s death in Singapore, where he had travelled to perform at the Northeast India Festival. Authorities there said the singer died of drowning in the sea.

The probe is examining whether negligence or other lapses contributed to the death of the singer.