What’s in Assam CM Himanta’s wife’s FIR against Pawan Khera
New Delhi: “Clearly designed to attract attention, provoke sensation and maximise reputational damage.” That is what the FIR registered by the Assam Police on a complaint filed by Riniki Bhuyan Sharma, wife of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma says. In the FIR, she has accused Congress leader Pawan Khera and others of fabricating documents, spreading false allegations, and orchestrating a coordinated campaign to defame her ahead of the Assam elections.
The FIR, registered on 6 April at the crime branch police station in Guwahati, invokes multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including provisions related to false statements in connection with an election, cheating, forgery, use of forged documents, criminal intimidation, public mischief, defamation, and criminal conspiracy.
The FIR is in response to the Congress leader’s allegation during press conferences, that Sharma held passports of three countries—Egypt, Antigua and Barbuda, and a ‘Golden Card’ passport of the United Arab Emirates.
The FIR said that the press conferences “were not a stray oral utterance, but were preceded and accompanied by promotional posts and visual materials, displayed in the backdrop of the stage, and circulated through social media platforms,” and that “everything uttered by Khera before the media is based on fake and fabricated materials with forged seals and QR codes”.
Assam Police have launched an investigation into Riniki Sharma’s allegations, and on Tuesday, a team of Assam Police conducted searches at the Delhi residence of Khera.
Pawan Khera, the chief of Congress’ media and publicity department, was not at home when the Assam police reached. DCP (crime branch) Debojit Nath said, “We searched his house. He (Khera) was not at home. We have found incriminating material, which cannot be disclosed right now.” The police have seized electronic devices from Khera’s residence. The Delhi Police assisted the Assam Police during the search.
The FIR followed Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma’s allegation that Congress used “false information” sourced from a Pakistani social media group to level charges against his wife. He said the allegations were a punishable offence since they were aimed at influencing the Assam elections.
In her FIR, Assam CM Himanta’s wife Riniki Sharma points to two press conferences held by Pawan Khera, one at New Delhi, at the AICC headquarters and the other at Hotel Lily in Guwahati. The allegations were “circulated through social media platforms from his official ‘X’ handle, Congress; official YouTube channel and official Facebook account”. The FIR also alleges that the visuals carried a derogatory line—”Abki bar Bunty aur Babli hone wale hain farar”—referencing a film about a couple of cons.
It was “clearly designed to attract attention, provoke sensation and maximise reputational damage,” Riniki Sharma has said in the FIR.
Riniki Sharma has also said, the allegations about her holding citizenships of countries are “totally false and baseless” and that she had never applied for such passports.
‘Personal vilification’
She also alleged that the allegations were “likely to incite public unrest, mislead citizens and disturb public tranquility, at a highly sensitive electoral stage, only few days before the scheduled state polls on April 9”.
“The manner, tenor, timing and packaging of the said allegations unmistakably show that they were made with deliberate malice, criminal intent and with full knowledge of the grave consequences that such imputations would have upon my reputation, dignity, safety and political prospect of my husband,” she said in the FIR.
She also stated that the allegations have exposed her and her family to public hostility, trolling, abusive commentary, suspicion and mental distress.
Riniki Sharma also said that the law does not protect a campaign of “personal vilification clothed as political speech”, particularly where false statements on the basis of fake and fabricated documents with seals and QR codes are knowingly published to harm reputation and influence public perception during an election period.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Rahul Gandhi wants to jail Himanta Sarma but Congress has a Bihar-sized problem in Assam
