Indian singer-composer Zubeen Garg told an interviewer recently that his home state of Assam would "shut down for seven days" when he died.

His remark almost proved prophetic - for days after he drowned in the sea in far-off Singapore, Assam was at a standstill, with schools closed, shops shuttered and bustling markets deserted.

Three weeks later, the state is still on the edge, unable to come to terms with the death of a beloved icon.

The 52-year-old singer, often described as the "first true rockstar of Assam", had gone to Singapore to perform at a live concert scheduled for 20 September. A day before that, he had gone on a yacht trip with a group of people when tragedy struck.

Singapore police said they had received a call for assistance at St John's Island and had taken an unconscious Garg to the hospital, where he subsequently died. They added that there was no foul play, The Straits Times reports.

Before Garg's cremation in Assam on 23 September, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said a second autopsy had been conducted to ensure transparency.

But despite initial reports pointing to an accident, the singer's death is now caught up in allegations of conspiracy and murder.

At least 60 complaints have been lodged with the state police. Five people who were in Singapore with Garg have been arrested - they have denied wrongdoing and say they are co-operating with the investigation. There is still no clarity on what happened in his last moments.

The grief and despair over Garg's death are not hard to understand.

A cultural icon in Assam, he sang in more than 40 languages and dialects in a career spanning 33 years. His hit Hindi song Ya Ali from the 2006 Bollywood film Gangster made him famous across India.

He often described himself as a "king" and the north-eastern state as his "kingdom", and was loved by his fans for his music as much as for his flamboyant clothes, "don't give a damn" attitude and embrace of issues that concerned northeast India.

Garg emerged in Assam's musical landscape in the 1990s, says Akhil Ranjan Dutta, professor of political science at Gauhati University. "It was a time when the state was witnessing........

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