Silchar: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma on Saturday said the state government has completed its probe into Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s alleged links with Pakistan and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report will be submitted to the Union Home Ministry for further investigation.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma on Saturday said the state government has completed its probe into Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s alleged links with Pakistan.The chief minister has repeatedly accused Gogoi of traveling to Pakistan and questioned his family’s citizenship.
The SIT was formed on February 17 last year following the state cabinet’s decision to probe the activities of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh and his associates. The Cabinet resolution ordering the SIT probe linked Sheikh to Gaurav Gogoi’s wife, British national Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi.
Also read: Assam police files FIR against Pak national ‘connected’ to Gogoi’s wife, SIT formed
Gogoi, son of former Congress chief minister Tarun Gogoi, has denied any links to Pakistan, saying he visited Pakistan in 2013 when his wife was stationed there as part of a climate change project.
Sarma also attacked Gogoi and his family, claiming that they were anti-national since Gogoi’s two children held British passports like their mother, rather than Indian ones.
Gogoi thwarted attempts by the ruling party to defame him. “This matter (alleged Pakistan link) is being used by the ruling party (BJP) to defame me. It is a C-grade movie and it will be a big flop when the SIT submits its report,” Gogoi had said in the past.
Sarma said the SIT was formed to probe the alleged links between Gogoi and Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who he claimed posed a threat to national security.
“The MP visited Pakistan when his father was chief minister of Assam. It was a 10-day visit, but there is no official record of it. We have details of the visit and our report contains important information related to national security,” Sarma told reporters.
Also read: The SIT has submitted a report to the Assam Chief Minister on Gaurav Gogoi’s alleged links with Pakistan
He alleged that Gogoi was staying at the Assam Chief Minister’s official residence at the time but did not inform the government about the visit to Pakistan, calling it “suspicious”.
“Many international terror groups are in touch with the local youth of Assam and this is nothing new. Most of these groups operate from Pakistan. The clandestine visit of a former chief minister’s son is a matter of concern, which is why we have conducted an investigation,” Sarma said.
He said that Gogoi not only visited Pakistan but also maintained “secret contacts” with several anti-India forces and made several phone calls between 2012 and 2016.
“We have evidence of the visit, but we cannot recover phone call records. Only central agencies can do that. That is why we want further investigation by central agencies, and if required, they can take help of Interpol,” Sarma added.
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The chief minister said that parts of the inquiry report would be released on Sunday morning, after which he would ask the people of Assam to draw their own conclusions.
He also said that while the state government has the power to directly approach central agencies like the National Investigation Agency (NIA) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the cabinet felt the Center should have the freedom to decide which agency would conduct the investigation.
last year, Sarma announced that the report would be made public September 10, but later said the investigation needed more time. On Saturday, he praised the Assam Police for what he described as an “efficient and thorough” investigation.
Earlier this month, Sarma reiterated that the report would be released on February 8. In response, Gogoi questioned why the state government had failed to release the report in September last year.
“This is nothing but an attempt to divert public attention from the BJP’s failure. I have done nothing wrong, and if I have, why did the BJP fail to take action against me after coming to power in 2014?” Gogoi said.
