Rawalpindi visit to be added to SIT report on Gaurav Gogoi before Centre referral: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 11 said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report examining alleged ‘Pakistan links’ of state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi will be revised to incorporate “disclosures” made by the MP at a recent press conference and forwarded to the Centre for further investigation.

Sarma said two additional details would be included in the amended report — Gogoi’s acknowledgment of a visit to Rawalpindi district and his statement that his wife had received salary “directly from Pakistan”.

“The Special Investigation Team (SIT) report will be amended to include Gogoi’s remarks at the press conference. Two new pieces of information were revealed by him — that his wife took salary directly from Pakistan, and that he had visited Rawalpindi district, which has the Pakistan Army headquarters, without mentioning it in the visa,” the Chief Minister told reporters.

He added that the revised report would be sent to New Delhi “tomorrow or the day after”.

The state Cabinet has decided to refer the matter to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for further probe. Sarma maintained that the issue was not connected to the forthcoming Assembly elections, asserting that the BJP was “far ahead” electorally.

“This is a struggle so that Pakistan cannot enter Dispur,” he said, adding that the matter concerned national security rather than political gains.

The SIT was constituted to investigate alleged interference in India’s internal affairs by Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who was claimed to have links with Gogoi’s British wife, Elizabeth Colburn. Referring to earlier findings, Sarma had alleged a “deeper connection” between Gogoi, Colburn and Sheikh, and claimed that information from the Intelligence Bureau was passed on to the neighbouring country.

Gogoi rejected the allegations, calling them “most mindless and bogus”, and described the Chief Minister’s earlier press conference as “worse than C-grade cinema” and a “super flop”.

Responding to questions on why Gogoi had not been examined by the SIT, Sarma said police had their own strategy. “Police know how to deal with a case… When a person is cornered, they blurt out the truth, just like Gogoi admitted to his Rawalpindi visit,” he said. If summoned formally, he added, “his lawyer would have accompanied him, and he would have never told us about it”.

Asked how the Centre would proceed, Sarma said “no one will let go of a matter when Pakistan is involved” and described Union Home Minister Amit Shah as a “man of deeds rather than words”, adding that “his silence is indicative of a storm”.

The Chief Minister also alleged internal dissent within the Congress over the controversy. “Rajiv Bhawan is now working with us as they want to defeat Pakistan. Not all people take Pakistan so easily,” he claimed.

He further alleged that a whistleblower from within the party informed police about an alleged plan involving three persons linked to a political consultancy group to “get ink thrown on Gogoi and shift the blame to BJP”. Police have recorded the information and summoned the individuals concerned as a preventive measure, Sarma said.

The political exchange widened after AICC leader Pawan Khera alleged that Sarma was a follower of Bangladeshi cleric Dewan Mohammad Saidur Rahman Chishti Saidabadi and had joined the BJP on his advice. Rejecting the charge, the Chief Minister said the cleric had earlier met former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and that Gaurav Gogoi had also visited him.

“The cleric had visited Tarun Gogoi at his Koinadhora residence. Gaurav Gogoi had visited him twice at a Machkhowa residence,” Sarma claimed, adding, “Let Khera post about the cleric's visit to Tarun Gogoi’s home. They always post half-truths.”

Sarma said he had “a lot of photographs” with religious leaders from his Congress days and questioned, “What is wrong with it?” He added that he had not removed old photographs from social media “so that people can know what kind of person I was after my death”, and maintained that he had “nothing against Sufism” and had visited several dargahs.