Assam Police Arrive At Pawan Khera’s Delhi Residence After FIR In Riniki Bhuyan Passport Row

A fresh political row erupted ahead of the Assam Assembly elections after Assam Police on Tuesday visited Congress leader Pawan Khera's residence in Delhi, a day after an FIR was lodged against him over allegations he made against Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma's wife, Riniki Bhuyan.

The development has intensified an already sharp exchange between the Congress and the BJP, with both sides accusing each other of spreading misinformation and attempting to influence the electoral atmosphere in the state.

Assam Police Reach Delhi After FIR Against Khera

According to information learned by HT, Assam Police reached Khera's residence in Delhi's Nizamuddin area on Tuesday, with assistance from local Delhi Police during the visit. The move came just a day after a case was registered in Guwahati following Congress's public allegations concerning Riniki Bhuyan's citizenship and foreign business links.

The controversy has quickly snowballed into a major political confrontation between the Congress and the BJP, especially as campaigning for the Assam Assembly elections gathers pace. The police action has added a legal dimension to what began as a high-voltage war of words at press conferences held by the opposition.

Congress's Allegations Trigger Political Firestorm

The dispute began after the Congress held two separate press conferences on Sunday, one in Delhi and another in Guwahati, where party leaders raised serious allegations against the Assam chief minister's wife.

Congress media department head Pawan Khera, along with Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, alleged that Riniki Bhuyan possessed passports from the UAE, Egypt, and Antigua and Barbuda. They also claimed she owned property in Dubai and had a company registered in Wyoming in the United States.

These allegations immediately triggered a fierce response from the BJP and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who accused the Congress of relying on fabricated material and politically motivated disinformation.

Himanta Biswa Sarma Alleges Pakistan Link, Warns of Serious Consequences

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Himanta Biswa Sarma strongly rejected the allegations and claimed there was a Pakistan angle behind the documents used by Congress.

He said, "as all the data which was used to fabricate the alleged passports was taken from a social media group called Pakistanis in Ajman [Facebook]."

Sarma went a step further by alleging that the issue was part of a wider attempt to interfere in Assam's election process from outside India. Referring to media coverage in Pakistan, he said, "In the past 10 days, news channels in Pakistan have done several talk shows on the election in our state. It shows that there is a conspiracy hatched in the neighbouring country to influence the results of the Assam election."

The Assam chief minister said that under normal circumstances the matter might have remained a defamation issue, but because the claims surfaced just before polling, they carried wider implications. He warned that allegations of this nature, if intended to impact the election, could be treated far more seriously and may even invite punishment as severe as "life imprisonment".

On Sunday night, Sarma also confirmed that a case had been filed in Guwahati against Khera and others, seeking action over what he described as "fake allegations".

Riniki Bhuyan Hits Back at Gaurav Gogoi on X

Riniki Bhuyan also publicly responded to the controversy, using social media platform X to deny the claims made by Congress and to directly challenge Gaurav Gogoi.

Rejecting the allegations of foreign assets, Bhuyan wrote, "Here it is: Neither I, nor my children, nor my husband have any business interests or assets in Dubai or anywhere outside India. Now your turn. Can you disclose whether your wife has or has ever had a bank account in Pakistan? And will you make those details public?"

In the same post, she also accused the Congress of changing its position within a day on the nature of its claims. She said, "Also interesting how, within 24 hours, you've already climbed down from your claim of a 'golden visa on an Egyptian passport' to now talking about an 'Indian passport',"

Her response shifted the political spotlight further onto Congress, while also widening the debate into a personal and political exchange involving family members of senior leaders.

Election Heat Rises as Legal Battle Deepens

With Assam heading into a crucial electoral phase, the episode has become one of the most explosive flashpoints of the campaign so far. What started as a press conference allegation has now escalated into a police visit, an FIR, charges of forgery, claims of foreign interference, and a public confrontation on social media.

As both the Congress and the BJP dig in, the issue is likely to remain at the centre of Assam's political discourse in the coming days, especially as the ruling party frames the allegations as an attempt to malign the chief minister's family, while the opposition continues to question transparency around the matter.