Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the police probe against Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh revealed that he had visited India 18 times between 2010 and 2018 and the ongoing probe would be “very fatal” for the Congress.
Ali heads the LEAD Pakistan — a non-profit organisation working in the field of climate change — of which Elizabeth Gogoi, the wife of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, was an "integral part during her time spent in Islamabad".
The state police had registered a case against Ali on February 17 based on a directive by the cabinet to ascertain whether his activities "are part of a larger conspiracy (against India) and to identify any sympathisers or associates within Assam and across India who may be aiding Sheikh's anti-India agenda".
The police had formed a four-member SIT to probe the case.
Responding to the motion of thanks on the governor's speech, Assam chief minister Sarma revealed that the SIT had found out in three days that Ali visited India 18 times.
Sarma further said: "Ali works for the Climate and Development Knowledge Network which operates in both India and Pakistan. But his tweets and remarks are on India and Assam’s internal political affairs... In just three days, we found Ali has come to India 18 times...”
“Now, we will know who invited him, who hosted him. We are going to get more details. Going by the initial findings in my hand, it will be very fatal for the Congress. It is going to be very difficult... The investigation has revealed certain startling facts, something which I can not even comprehend. As a responsible person, I am stating its impact on Assam politics will be huge... We will probe whatever we can... After that we will hand it over to the NIA,” Sarma said in the Assembly, without naming the Congress MP or his wife.
He further vowed in the Assembly that the state “will break this Ali Tauqeer network” and will come back to the Assembly in the month of August with startling facts “that will shake all”.