“When Zubeen was alive, they defamed him; today they worship him”: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused certain groups of exploiting the death of singer Zubeen Garg for political gains, a day after police clashed with a mob in Baksa district linked to the singer’s demise.

“When Zubeen was alive, the entire ecosystem tried to defame and pull him down. Today, after his death, the same people worship him as a god,” Sarma wrote on X.

He added, “These are not real admirers – they are fake fans whose only motive is to use his name to attack and oppose BJP. True love and respect are shown when a person is alive, not when it becomes convenient after death.”

The remarks come after police used tear gas and batons to disperse a crowd that attacked a convoy transporting five people arrested in connection with Garg’s death in Singapore on September 19.

Sarma has claimed that since Garg’s passing, some political parties have been trying to push a “false narrative to fulfil their vested political interests.” He warned that such actions could “harm the state for a long time just like the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act did.”

The chief minister urged people to trust the judiciary and avoid being misled by those with political agendas. “Zubeen's death cannot be a political advantage for anybody but the prevailing narrative created by the section is that his death happened, and we must keep the issue alive till the assembly elections,” he said.

Sarma also criticised those who he said were not genuine fans of the singer. “Most of these people were never Zubeen's fans and had even criticised him, but now, overnight, they have deleted their previous social media posts and are claiming to be his ardent fans,” he wrote, alleging that such groups aim to prolong unrest in the state.

The Assam government has formed a 10-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the singer’s death.