The Assam police have registered an FIR against Pakistani national Ali Tauqueer Sheikh and some unknown persons under various anti-India statutes. The case was registered following Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s directive to investigate links of Sheikh with Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s British national wife, Elizabeth Clare Gogoi, and to investigate any threat such links might pose, directly or indirectly, to India’s security and sovereignty.
The FIR, registered by Assam Police’s CID, includes charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, covering offenses related to sovereignty, unity, integrity, and criminal conspiracy.
Assam CM Sarma announced the development on social media, citing Sheikh’s role as the founder of Lead Pakistan, a so-called non-profit organisation focused on climate change. He said that Elizabeth Gogoi was associated with the organisation during her time in Islamabad. He also highlighted that both Sheikh and Elizabeth were part of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), which operates in both India and Pakistan.
Given the history of the ISI with Assam, the cabinet stressed that a serious probe must be conducted. He called upon Elizabeth Gogoi to cooperate by providing her passport, visa, and travel history to investigators. He further called upon Gaurav Gogoi to clarify if questioned regarding any parliamentary discussions on the nuclear policy of the country.
Furthermore, the state government plans to approach the central government to determine whether Elizabeth Gogoi violated visa conditions by actively participating in political campaigns during Gaurav Gogoi’s Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019. Sarma suggested that legal proceedings would bring transparency to the issue, encouraging Gogoi to approach the courts if he wished to challenge the accusations.
Sarma also expressed concerns regarding Gaurav Gogoi’s visit to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi in 2015, stating that it was tied to the MP’s questions regarding uranium deposits in Meghalaya and the Indian nuclear program. He wondered why a foreign national such as Elizabeth should involve herself in India’s electoral process, saying that the authorities could ask for her visa to be cancelled.
In reply, Gogoi has dismissed the allegations and accused Assam CM of running a “slanderous campaign”. He has even threatened Assam CM with a legal action for these claims.
