CM’s wife Riniki files FIR against Khera over foreign passport claims

Guwahati: Crime Branch of the Guwahati Police Commissionerate has registered a case based on an FIR lodged by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, against AICC media and publicity chairperson Pawan Khera and others. The charges include forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

On Sunday, Pawan Khera in two press conferences — first in Delhi and then in Guwahati — where he alleged that Riniki holds passports issued by the UAE, Egypt, and Antigua and Barbuda, and owns undisclosed properties in Dubai. He also claimed that Sarma owns a limited liability company registered in Wyoming, USA, valued at Rs 53,000 crore.

Hours after the allegations, Riniki lodged a complaint at the crime branch police station at Panbazar in Guwahati on Sunday midnight.

Riniki said, “All the allegations are baseless and false. Therefore, I have lodged the complaint seeking a proper investigation into the matter so that the guilty are punished. The passports with my name they showed during the press conference are completely AI generated and completely photoshopped. It is a clear violation of personal rights.”

She further alleged that Congress does not have any agenda to fight this election. “They (Congress) do not have any agenda against Himanta Biswa Sarma also. For all these reasons, they have made me a soft target,” she added.

Calling the claim of holding three passports impossible, she said, “Why would I stay in India if I had invested Rs 52,000 crore? I have no words to comment on that allegation.”

A senior crime branch officer said the FIR has been registered under several charges of the BNS, 2023, and that an investigation is underway.

Following Khera’s press conference, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X that he and Riniki would file civil and criminal defamation cases against Khera.

Meanwhile, a police officer said the investigation into a separate case filed by AJP candidate Kunki Chowdhury at the Cyber Police Station in Guwahati — regarding the circulation of AI-generated fake videos targeting her and her family — is expected to take time due to procedural complexities.

The officer said social media users who circulated the videos have been asked to cooperate and provide necessary information. “The IP addresses and content will be collected. Help from network service providers will be sought for analysis. These procedures take time,” the officer added.