Guwahati | Assam's cultural icon Zubeen Garg was conferred the honorary Doctor of Literature degree posthumously by Cotton University on Tuesday.

Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya bestowed the honour on the late singer-actor, and the award was received by his sister Dr Palme Borthakur during the fourth convocation of the University.

"It is an academic honour and the family is very proud of him," Borthakur said after receiving the award.

It is an "emotional moment to receive the award in his absence", she said.

Borthakur claimed that the singer had helped all during his lifetime, but during the last three months, "we realised how people took advantage of him".

The singer died in Singapore while swimming in the sea on September 19. The government formed an SIT to probe into his death and the charge sheet will be filed on December 12.

The family is now hoping for a strong charge sheet and the guilty is booked, Borthakur added.

"We just want he gets justice. We have faith in the investigation and will know the details of the charge sheet on December 12," she said.

Earlier, Garg was conferred with an honorary D Litt by the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) in August 2024 and he had received it himself.

At the Cotton University convocation on Tuesday, the Governor also conferred honorary D.Litt (Honoria Causa) to eminent Assamese writer and scholar Ranjit Kumar Dev Goswami for his contribution to literature and cultural studies.