Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma escalated his allegations against senior Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi on Sunday, accusing the MP and his wife, Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, of having close ties with Pakistani agent Ali Tauqeer Sheikh.
Sarma claimed that Sheikh, who was known for promoting an anti-India narrative globally, visited India 12 times between 2010 and 2013, during the tenure of the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.
The chief minister further alleged that after the Assam government formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe allegations of an anti-India conspiracy involving Sheikh, the latter deleted all his tweets in an apparent attempt to protect someone.
"He (Sheikh) used to tag Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi in his tweets. However, when the investigation began, he suddenly deleted all his tweets. Normally, a person from Pakistan wouldn't be concerned about an investigation by the Assam Police, as we cannot reach him. But to protect someone, he deleted all his tweets," Sarma said.
Sarma added that Elizabeth worked in Pakistan from March 18, 2011, to March 17, 2012, and that her family maintained close ties with Sheikh. He further alleged that Elizabeth, while working in an Indian firm, travelled to Islamabad six times and made three visits to Pakistan after joining another NGO.
According to Sarma, Elizabeth always entered Pakistan via the Attari border, likely to keep a low profile, and never flew there.
In another serious accusation, Sarma alleged that Elizabeth gathered various information about India and gave reports to Sheikh. He also claimed that Gogoi failed to disclose his wife’s Pakistani bank account in his election affidavit.
The chief minister went on to allege that Gogoi visited Islamabad and Karachi in 2013, despite the visa being issued only for Lahore, and that the Assam Police were not informed of the trip. "In his 10-day stay in Pakistan, Gaurav was digitally silent. We suspect he went through some kind of training there," Sarma said, adding that after his visit, the MP had asked questions in Parliament on defence hardware, nuclear plants.
Sarma stated that while the SIT had gathered sensitive information from various sources, further investigation could not proceed without assistance from Interpol and sensitive data from the Government of India and Parliament.
"After reviewing the SIT report, the state cabinet is of the opinion that this matter should be investigated by a central agency. We have decided to refer the case to the Ministry of Home Affairs for further investigation. The case will be transferred to the central government once we receive an affirmative response from the Centre," he said.
