Assam police file FIR against Pak national ‘linked’ to Gogoi’s wife, form SIT
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has termed the allegations against his wife as a slanderous campaign, and said that they would take appropriate action against it
GUWAHATI: The Assam Police on Monday lodged a first information report (FIR) against Pakistani national Ali Tauqueer Sheikh and unknown others for alleged anti-India activities and constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the matter, amid controversy over his alleged links with Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s wife, Elizabeth Clare Gogoi.
The move comes a day after the state Cabinet led by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed police to lodge a case against him and to find whether his alleged association with Elizabeth Gogoi, a British national, had any implications on the nation’s security and sovereignty.
Gaurav Gogoi had termed the allegations and insinuations raised by Sarma and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders against his wife as a “slanderous campaign” and said they would take appropriate action against it.
While the cabinet instructed the state director general of police (DGP) to file an FIR against Sheikh, it decided not to register a case against the Congress MP or his wife.
The FIR against Sheikh, registered by the Assam Police’s criminal investigation department (CID), has imposed various charges against him under sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) that include abetting commission of an act which would constitute an offence if committed in India, endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, criminal conspiracy and unlawful activities.
“In pursuance of the cabinet decision taken yesterday, Assam Police has lodged an FIR and the same had been registered as CID PS Case No 05/2025 U/S 48/152/61/197(1) BNS, 2023 RW Sec.13(1) UA(P) Act against Ali Tauqeer Sheikh and unknown others,” Sarma posted on X on Monday.
“Pursuant to the registration of the case, the DGP, Assam Police, has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. Assam Police will conduct a professional and completely objective investigation,” he added.
The SIT will have four senior state police officers and will be headed by MP Gupta, Special DGP (CID).
Sheikh, an advisor of the Pakistan Planning Commission and a former colleague of Elizabeth Gogoi is the founder of Lead Pakistan, a non-profit organisation working in the field of climate change.
Sarma had alleged that Elizabeth Gogoi was an integral part of Lead Pakistan during her time spent in Islamabad.
Sarma said that both Sheikh and Elizabeth Gogoi have been a part of a global climate action group called the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), which operates both in India and Pakistan.
Sarma said that the Assam cabinet expected the matter to be pursued with utmost seriousness in the interest of India’s security and sovereignty, noting that Assam has historically remained a hotspot of (Pakistan’s) ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) activities.
“We expect that since Elizabeth Gogoi, who is a British citizen and is the wife of a MP from Assam, will cooperate in this investigation and share her passport, visa and travel documents with the investigating team. Also expect Gaurav Gogoi to inform Assam police, if they choose to seek his statements, regarding any direct or indirect links to his questions raised in parliament, especially those related to India’s nuclear heads,” he said.
He further said that the state government would write to Centre to check whether Gaurav Gogoi’s wife had violated visa conditions as she had actively participated in the campaigning for two Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019 when he had successfully contested from the Kaliabor seat in Assam.
Sarma said that it will be good if Gogoi approaches the court or takes legal action against the issues raised. “We can’t talk about many matters publicly. But if the issue goes to court, Assam government will welcome it as all matters will have to be disclosed as directed by the courts,” he said, adding that it will also expedite inquiry.
“We can’t compromise with the nation’s security just because someone is a leader of a political party. I am separately writing a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge as well as the party’s state unit chief Bhupen Kumar Borah to highlight that whatever action we are taking is not for political purpose but for maintaining the security and sovereignty of the country,” he said.
Sarma said that Gogoi’s visit to the Pakistan high commission in India at New Delhi in 2015 has been confirmed and that the Congress MP had raised questions on India’s nuclear energy and issues related to defence in Parliament following that.
“Why does an MP from Assam want to know details of uranium deposits in Meghalaya or about which countries are supporting our nuclear program? These are issues of serious national concern,” he said.
“Even Sonia Gandhi has taken Indian citizenship. Why can’t you (Elizabeth) do the same? It is purely your personal matter, but being a foreign national can you interfere in the election process of India? I can definitely question that. They have to answer in a court of law or the police. Otherwise, we have every right to ask the Centre to cancel her visa,” he added.
Responding to the allegations, Gogoi on Sunday said, “All of this is being done because 12 months from now there will be elections in Assam and the BJP government has no performance to show. They are unable to fulfill their promises, and to hide their failures they are embarking upon a mischievous and malicious, baseless, fact-less slanderous campaign and we will definitely be taking appropriate action.”
“At the same time, I have full faith in the wisdom of the people of Assam that they can see through this obvious slander campaign. The way the people of Jharkhand voted Aout the rhetoric of Himanta Biswa Sarma during the Jharkhand assembly election (last year inA which the Assam CM was the deputy state in-charge of BJP), the same wisdom of the Assamese people will prevail. They will see through this mischievous slander and vote in a Congress-led government in the upcoming assembly election,” he told journalists in Guwahati.