Congress leader and national spokesperson Pawan Khera was subjected to nearly 10 hours of questioning by Assam Police’s Crime Branch here on Wednesday in connection with a high-profile case involving forgery, defamation, and criminal conspiracy.
Khera, who heads the Congress media department, reached the Crime Branch office in Guwahati around 10:30 am with his legal team in compliance with conditions laid down by the Supreme Court while granting him anticipatory bail last month. He was questioned by senior officers, including the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) and later the Commissioner of Police, over allegations that he had paraded forged documents claiming that Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, holds multiple foreign passports and undisclosed overseas assets.
Khera’s lawyers submitted supporting material during the day-long interrogation, which sources said included evidence he had earlier referred to. Congress workers and leaders gathered outside the office, alleging “political vendetta” and “mental harassment,” claiming the leader was made to wait for long stretches without active questioning.
#WATCH | Guwahati, Assam: As he leaves from the Crime Branch Police Station, Congress leader Pawan Khera says, "I have been called once again at 9.30 am tomorrow. I will come here…I am cooperating." pic.twitter.com/Zmu6FHdlDD
— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2026
As he left the Crime Branch late in the evening, Khera told waiting reporters that he had cooperated in the probe, and he will further cooperate. He said, “I have been called once again at 9:30 am tomorrow. I will come here… I am cooperating.” He declined to comment further on the proceedings, saying only, “Cooperation means cooperation.”
The case stems from remarks made by Khera in April during a press conference before Assam elections, where he displayed what he claimed were official documents to back his allegations. Sarma had strongly denied the claims, calling the documents “fabricated, fake and politically motivated.” Assam BJP had subsequently found the original documents in the name of foreign citizens, which were forged by the Congress party to claim they belong the CM’s wife.
An FIR was subsequently registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch Police Station under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including those related to forgery of valuable documents, cheating, defamation, and criminal conspiracy.
The development comes weeks after the Supreme Court granted Khera anticipatory bail on May 1, setting aside the Gauhati High Court’s denial. The apex court had observed that the dispute appeared to arise from political rivalry and did not warrant custodial interrogation at this stage, while directing Khera to fully cooperate with the investigation and appear as and when summoned.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, reacting earlier in the day, said the “law will take its own course” and that the police would file a chargesheet within the stipulated time. He stressed that the probe was being conducted as per legal procedure.
