Assam CM hints at constituting SIT to probe Gaurav Gogoi's wife's 'links' with Pakistan
It will be examined whether the ISI had attempted to infiltrate the CMO when Colburn's father-in-law was the chief minister, said Himanta
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday (February 15) said that a police case is likely to be registered and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to inquire into the allegations of Pakistan links of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s British wife Elizabeth Colburn.
A detailed inquiry, involving the “entire ecosystem and sympathisers”, will be carried out as apprehensions are being raised about whether ISI had attempted to infiltrate the CMO when Gogoi's father, the late Tarun Gogoi, was heading the state, Sarma added.
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“This is a developing situation. More and more information is emerging,” the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Guwahati.
Bid to infiltrate CMO?
He said there is definite information that Colburn had visited Pakistan after her marriage but it is yet to be ascertained whether her husband had accompanied her. He added that a detailed inquiry will be carried out and the “entire ecosystem and sympathisers” will be examined.
Sarma also said that it will be examined whether the ISI had attempted to infiltrate the chief minister's office (CMO) when Colburn's father-in-law was the chief minister. “Initially, this issue was more of a political debate. But when it comes to involvement of ISI, we cannot just let it go,” he added.
Continuing to question the allegations against Gogoi and his wife, Sarma alleged on X that the "network is now emerging as far more significant and deeply entrenched than initially thought".
Shares screenshots of X posts
He shared screenshots of old posts on X by Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an advisor of the Pakistan Planning Commission and a former colleague of Colburn, and claimed that the relationship between the Gogois and the Pakistan national appeared to be "deeply rooted".
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Sarma shared a screenshot of a post by Sheikh in 2019 in which he commented on the problem of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh to India. "Elizabeth Colburn w/o Hon'ble MP worked under Ali Tauqeer Sheikh in the organisation LEAD Pakistan, which operated under the guise of climate change initiatives," Sarma wrote, sharing the screenshot.
He claimed that a "closer examination" of Sheikh's works and articles reveals a deeper and more strategic involvement, particularly in Assam. "The extent of this network is now emerging as far more significant and deeply entrenched than initially thought," Sarma maintained, as he tagged the Union Home Ministry in his post.
The CM shared another post by Sheikh from 2020 in which the Pakistan national lauds Gogoi and others for raising the Delhi riots issue in Parliament.
(With agency inputs)
