Zubeen Garg death: Assam govt bans Singapore NEIF organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta
Multiple complaints were filed against Northeast India Festival (NEIF) chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta across Assam after Zubeen Garg’s death in Singapore
The Assam government on Wednesday banned Northeast India Festival (NEIF) chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta from organising functions or festivals in the state, days after singer Zubeen Garg died while he was in Singapore for the event.
Multiple complaints were filed against Mahanta across Assam as Garg’s fans and followers raised questions about the death. On September 21, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a case has been registered against Mahanta and others over the death. He directed the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the matter. People aware of the matter said the CID may question Mahanta, who is currently in Delhi.
Sarma announced the ban on Mahanta in a post on X. “The state government has decided to prohibit Shri Shyamkanu Mahanta and any organisation associated with him from holding any functions or festivals within the state of Assam,” he wrote.
He added that the state government will not provide any financial grant, advertisement, or sponsorship to any event with which Mahanta is associated, directly or indirectly. “The state government will also request the government of India not to extend any financial assistance or sponsorship to him in any manner,” Sarma wrote.
Mahanta is an Assam-born entrepreneur and chief functionary of the socio-cultural trust Trend MMS. He launched the Northeast Festival in Delhi in 2013 and later took it to Bangkok. Mahanta was the organiser of the fourth edition of the NEIF in Singapore.
Mahanta’s team claimed that members of the local Assamese community had taken Garg on a yacht visit during which he died.
Assam Police separately arrested 15 people in connection with vandalism during protests after Garg’s funeral in Guwahati this week. On Sunday, Garg’s fans blocked the national highway in Jorhat for hours, demanding that his remains be brought to the city, where he spent his formative years. They also sought his cremation in Jorhat, but the request was denied.
