Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: Making public SIT’s findings on Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and his wife’s alleged Pakistan link, Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the joint activities of the trio—Gaurav Gogoi, his wife Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi, and Pakistani citizen Ali Tauqeer Sheikh—seemed to pose a security threat to India.
Addressing a press conference on the issue here today, the Chief Minister said, “As per the SIT report, Elizabeth had transmitted confidential reports from India to Pakistani individual Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. Sheikh is known for his anti-India stance.”
The Chief Minister said that Gaurav Gogoi had been in Pakistan for ten days. “What Gaurav Gogoi did during that ten-day period in Pakistan is not known, as he hadn’t disclosed anything on any social platform. Gaurav Gogoi went to Pakistan in December 2013 with a visa issued by the Government of India for his visit to Lahore only. After his landing in Lahore on December 15, the very next day, the Ministry of Interior, Government of Pakistan, allowed him to go to Karachi and Islamabad as well. The Indian visa rules restrict him to only the places mentioned. A question arises: who was active in Pakistan to make such instant facilities available for Gaurav Gogoi? Since he did not make his activities during his ten-day stay in Pakistan public, we’ve every reason to believe that he might have undergone some sort of training there, or he might be acting at the diktat of Pakistan. After making his way to the Parliament in 2014, he raised a question regarding the Indian Army’s strategy, uranium deposits, etc., in the Parliament. Now, he is a threat to national security and the most vulnerable politician. We give him ten days to come clean on his stay in Pakistan.”
The Chief Minister further said, “Gaurav Gogoi’s wife worked in an NGO—LEAD Pakistan—from 2011 to 2012. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh was the all-in-all of the NGO. The Pakistani NGO then transferred her to its sister concern, LEAD India, in New Delhi, and she worked there until 2015. Against the rules of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), LEAD Pakistan transferred Elizabeth’s salary directly to LEAD India. Tauqeer Sheikh assigned Elizabeth to work among civil society and policymakers in India.”
Citing a confidential report of the IB, the Chief Minister claimed that Elizabeth had transmitted confidential reports from India to Ali Tauqeer Sheikh in August 2014. After the NDA government led by Narendra Modi came to power in New Delhi, Elizabeth told Ali Tauqeer Sheikh that they needed to operate in a low-risk, low-visibility mode. The Chief Minister further said the head of LEAD India, Bhabna Luthra, told the SIT that she had no control over Elizabeth, as she used to receive all instructions directly from LEAD Pakistan. “Though Elizabeth left LEAD India in 2015, she has her bank account in Pakistan even now. When SIT grilled Elizabeth, she refused to reply as to why she still has a bank account in Pakistan. She also refused to provide details of Gaurav Gogoi’s ten-day stay in Pakistan,” the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister also said, “Elizabeth visited Pakistan nine times, and every time she used the Atari border. Why did she have to visit Pakistan such a large number of times?”
The Chief Minister said that Ali Taqueer Sheikh had visited India 13 times during the Dr. Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, taking many influential Pakistani nationals, including the Assistant Accountant General of Pakistan, along with him. The Chief Minister stated, “Ali Tauqeer Sheikh’s frequent visits to India, Elizabeth’s regular trips to Pakistan, and the direct transfer of money from LEAD Pakistan to LEAD India suggest the involvement of a powerful figure in the UPA government at the time, orchestrating events to ensure everything proceeded smoothly.”
The reporters wanted to know what prevented the SIT from grilling Gaurav Gogoi and arresting him when the issue is so serious. In his reply, the Chief Minister said, “If we arrest him now, the public will take it as a political vendetta. Beyond the SIT’s findings, further investigation is necessary. So, we’ll hand over the SIT’s case to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for further investigation. The ball is now in the court of the MHA. I hope the MHA will thoroughly investigate the case.”
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