Pawan Khera on Wednesday appeared before the Crime Branch of Assam Police in Guwahati for questioning in connection with cases filed by Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife Riniki Bhuyan Sharma.
The cases were filed after Khera raised allegations that she possessed multiple passports and had undisclosed foreign properties and assets.
Speaking to reporters outside the Crime Branch office, Khera said he was cooperating with the investigation.
He stated that he had been summoned by the police and had appeared accordingly, adding that he respects the law and the judiciary and was present as per legal procedure.
Khera also said he would speak to the media in detail after the questioning was completed.
Riniki Bhuyan Sharma had filed criminal complaints at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The charges against Khera include making false statements related to an election, cheating, forgery, using forged documents as genuine, intentional insult intended to provoke breach of peace, and defamation.
Earlier, Assam Police had visited Khera’s residence in New Delhi, but he was reportedly not present there.
Khera first approached the Telangana High Court, which granted him seven-day transit anticipatory bail. However, Assam Police challenged the order in the Supreme Court of India.
The apex court stayed the transit bail order and directed Khera to approach the Gauhati High Court.
Later, the Gauhati High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, after which Khera again moved the Supreme Court. The apex court subsequently granted him anticipatory bail, observing that the matter appeared to have arisen from political rivalry.
Meanwhile, a local court in Guwahati had earlier rejected Assam Police’s plea seeking a non-bailable warrant against Khera.
Senior Congress leader Ripun Bora later accused Himanta Biswa Sarma of pursuing a personal vendetta against Khera.
Bora said Khera appeared before investigators as a law-abiding citizen in compliance with the conditions linked to the bail granted by the Supreme Court.
He described the questioning as a routine legal process and said Khera was fully cooperating with the court’s directions.
However, Bora alleged that the matter had become a personal prestige issue for the Chief Minister and claimed that Khera’s arrest had earlier been ordered over a minor issue.
He further alleged that the Assam government might now try to harass Khera through repeated questioning and prolonged interrogation, though police could not arrest him in the case after interrogation.
The controversy began after remarks made earlier by Khera, following which Assam Police registered the case and initiated legal proceedings.
