The Singapore Health Sciences Authority confirmed that Garg’s death is under police investigation as part of a coroner’s case. Back in Assam, police have arrested seven people, including two of Garg’s personal security officers, amid a widening probe into financial irregularities.
BY PC Bureau
October 11, 2025: A coroner’s case has been initiated in Singapore into the death of Indian singer and actor Zubeen Garg, who passed away on September 19 during a yacht outing in the city-state, The Indian Express has reported. The inquiry comes amid growing speculation in India about the circumstances surrounding his death.
A coroner’s inquiry in Singapore is typically launched when a death appears to have resulted from an “unlawful act or omission,” when the cause is unknown, or when the circumstances are deemed suspicious.
Garg, 52, was in Singapore as a cultural brand ambassador for the North East India Festival scheduled for September 20–21. On September 19, he reportedly joined a yacht outing with members of the Assam Association Singapore, where he lost consciousness while swimming. He was rushed to the Singapore General Hospital, where he was declared dead. His death certificate cited “drowning” as the cause of death.
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Responding to The Indian Express on the nature of Garg’s death, Dr. Shijia Chan, consultant forensic pathologist with Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority — who issued the death certificate — confirmed that, “The case has been made a coroner’s case and is undergoing police investigations in Singapore.”
According to Singapore’s Attorney-General’s Chambers, a coroner’s inquiry is “a fact-finding and not a fault-finding process” intended to determine the identity of the deceased and establish how, when, and where the person died. Such inquiries are governed by the Coroners Act, which mandates investigations into deaths suspected to result from unlawful acts, unknown causes, or suspicious circumstances.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the people of Assam don’t want politics , they want justice for Zubeen Garg’s death.
Shantanu Bharali, senior BJP leader and former legal advisor to then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, has raised serious questions about the ongoing investigation. pic.twitter.com/M6tqpLpaxF
— Assam Congress (@INCAssam) October 10, 2025
The coroner, a judicial officer, receives a report from the police following their investigation. The Act also allows inquiries into deaths occurring in Singapore or on board Singapore-registered aircraft or vessels. In deciding whether to proceed, the coroner may consider family requests or whether a similar investigation is being conducted abroad. Importantly, the law stipulates that coroners do not determine criminal or civil liability, though their findings may inform subsequent proceedings.
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Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Garg’s death has registered a criminal case in Assam under charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and causing death by negligence.
So far, seven people have been arrested, including two of Garg’s personal security officers (PSOs), Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya, who were taken into custody on Friday and remanded to five days’ police custody. The two were assigned to Garg after the Assam government provided him security in 2013 following threats from the insurgent group ULFA for performing Hindi songs during Bihu celebrations.
Police sources said the PSOs came under scrutiny after the SIT discovered irregular financial transactions in their bank accounts — with ₹70 lakh in one account and ₹40 lakh in another — amounts far exceeding their known income.
Garg’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, told reporters on Thursday that she was aware her husband had provided money to the PSOs for philanthropic purposes but was “not aware of his financial transactions.”
The dual probes in Singapore and Assam continue to fuel public and media speculation about the untimely death of one of the Northeast’s most beloved cultural icons
