Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday appeared before the Assam Police Crime Branch in Guwahati for the second consecutive day in connection with cases filed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma.
Khera was questioned for over 10 hours on Wednesday after allegations that he made against Sharma regarding multiple passports and undisclosed overseas properties. Police had asked him to appear again on Thursday as part of the ongoing probe.
“I am cooperating with the investigations and will do so again today,” Khera told reporters before entering the Crime Branch office. He declined to comment further, saying he would speak after the investigation concludes.
On Wednesday night, after emerging from the Crime Branch office, Khera had said he was “a law-abiding citizen” and would cooperate fully with investigators.
Also read: Assam Police grill Pawan Khera over allegations on Riniki Sarma
Chief Minister Sarma on Wednesday asserted that “law will take its own course” and claimed that the Union government had already informed the state in writing that the documents displayed by Khera were “fake”. He added that the police investigation would not take long and a chargesheet could be filed within the stipulated time.
Sharma had lodged criminal complaints against Khera and others at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The charges include making false statements in connection with an election, cheating, forgery, use of forged documents as genuine, intentional insult intended to provoke breach of peace, and defamation.
Earlier, Assam Police had visited Khera’s residence in Delhi, though he was reportedly not present there at the time.
Khera had first approached the Telangana High Court, which granted him seven-day transit anticipatory bail. Assam Police later challenged the order in the Supreme Court of India.
The apex court subsequently stayed the transit bail order and directed Khera to move the Gauhati High Court. After the Gauhati High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, Khera again approached the Supreme Court, which later granted him anticipatory bail while observing that the matter appeared to stem from political rivalry.
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