Gaurav Gogoi’s wife Elizabeth reported to Pakistani boss while working in India, sent confidential reports advocating low visibility strategies: Read explosive details revealed by Assam Police SIT

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Assam government to probe the Pakistan link of Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and his wife Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi has concluded. In a press conference today, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma presented the findings of the probe, levelling serious allegations against the Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and his wife.

The CM said that the state government has forwarded the findings of the SIT probe to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for further probe, as Assam Police does not have jurisdiction over many matters linked to the case. He said these links pose a significant threat to national security and require further detailed probe.

The Chief Minister described the findings as “damning and damaging,” emphasising that the involvement of a sitting MP elevates the matter to one of “extreme seriousness.” He alleged that Gogoi “attempted to legitimise Pakistan” through various actions, including leading a youth delegation to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi in 2015, where he met with then-High Commissioner Abdul Basit.

As per the CM, Elizabeth previously served as an aide to former US Senator Tom Udall, who is linked to anti-India billionaire George Soros, who wants to topple nationalist governments across the world, including the Modi government.

Sarma pointed to a viral photograph from this meeting, which he initially suspected was photoshopped but later confirmed as authentic after endorsements from Congress leaders.  Following the photo’s circulation, Basit reportedly visited Assam, which Sarma suggested was not coincidental.

The main allegations are regarding Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi and her links with Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh. As per the probe, Elizabeth worked in Pakistan from March 18, 2011, to March 17, 2012, under a Pakistan-based organisation called LEAD Pakistan. During this period, she allegedly developed close ties with Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, whom CM Sarma described as a “Pakistani agent” with connections to the Pakistan Army, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and the country’s Planning Commission.

Sheikh, according to Sarma, was no mere environmentalist but a figure who promoted anti-India narratives on global platforms, particularly regarding the Indus Water Treaty and other bilateral conflicts. Sheikh visited India at least 13 times between 2010 and 2013, raising concerns about his role in anti-India activities. CM Sarma said that he was allowed to visit India by the UPA govt despite his anti-India comments being known.

Sarma revealed explosive details from the SIT report, claiming Elizabeth was transferred to India but continued to receive her salary from the Pakistani firm even after her relocation. Moreover, an appointment letter placing her in India was issued a year before her transfer. As per the SIT probe, LEAD India was brought under LEAD Pakistan so that Elizabeth’s salary could be transferred from Pakistan to India, bypassing FCRA regulations.

The CM said that LEAD Pakistan could not send the salary directly to Elizabeth, as a fund transfer under FCRA is only for Indians, and she is not an Indian citizen. Therefore, the fund was diverted to LEAD India, an Indian organisation, to pay her salary.

Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi worked under Bhawana Luthra in Lead India, who was questioned by the SIT in connection with the case. As per the financial records of Lead India checked by the investigators, LEAD India received funds from LEAD Pakistan in the name of organisational work, but actually the money was for Gogoi’s salary.

Sarma stated that Elizabeth maintained active bank accounts in Pakistan, where she received payments, but she refused disclose details of the accounts to the SIT. Another shocking fact was that her salary was much higher than that of her superior in India. While she received ₹2,50,000, Bhawana Luthra’s salary was ₹50,000.

As per the probe, Gogoi received a total of ₹82.41 lakhs from Pakistan through FCRA. LEAD India received ₹63.48 lakh from LEAD Pakistan, while in total it received ₹91.27 lakh from September 2012 to November 2014. Out of this, 90% amount was received by Gaurav Gogoi’s wife alone.

Moreover, while Gogoi was under Bhawana Luthra in LEAD India, she actually reported to Asian Regional Director Ali Tauqeer Sheikh in Islamabad. The agreement appointing Elizabeth in LEAD India said, “CDKN’s programme in India is part of the overall Asia programme managed and directed by Lead Pakistan as a core partner of the CDKN delivery alliance. As such, the personnel in this statement of work (namely Elizabeth Gogoi) are line managed, and their work overseen and approved, by the Asia Regional Director and Asia Regional Manager in Islamabad.

It further states that, “The Asit. Regional Director, together with the CDKN outcome leads and Head of Country Support in London have joint strategic and budgetary control over the programme in India. The Lead Pakistan office will administer this contract on behalf of CDKN including setting monthly work plans, approving budgets and travel expenses and all other technical, strategic and budgetary decisions.”

This makes it clear that LEAD India was completely under LEAD Pakistan, an unusual arrangement as, in general, country units of international organisations have equal rank and status, and are governed by regional/global heads. But in this case, the wife of a Lok Sabha MP worked under an organisation under direct control of Pakistan, and CM Sarma called it a very serious issue.

The agreement was collected by the SIT during the probe. As per CM Sarma, while Elizabeth transferred from Pakistan to India, she remained a ‘shadow employee’ of LEAD Pakistan working in India. He said that the SIT has confiscated documents showing the flow of money from Pakistan to India from the LEAD India office, and Bhawana Luthra has also confirmed the same.

In another explosive allegation, the CM alleged she collected sensitive information on activities surrounding India and sent reports back to Pakistan, including a 50-page confidential document to Sheikh that referenced Intelligence Bureau (IB) sources. The report was marked as confidential, and it prima facie violates Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

During questioning, Elizabeth agreed that she authored the report. As per the CM, the report stated, “no risk, no visibility strategy recommended”. It further advocated that the Pakistan-based actor maintain a covert operational strategy in India to avoid detection and scrutiny, as per the SIT.

Elizabeth had also recommended bypassing the central government in India and working directly with state governments and other regional agencies. She had written that the tension between the centre and states will increase under PM Modi.

When she was working in LEAD India, she visited Islamabad six times, and after she left LEAD India and joined Oxford Policy Management, she visited three more times. Each time, she used the land route through the Atari border, instead of taking flights, the CM said. As per SIT, LEAD India head Bhawana Luthra said that she does not know why Elizabeth visited Pakistan.

The SIT made the following major observations regarding Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi

• Links to George Soros via Senator Tom Udall
• Employment with LEAD Pakistan under Ali Tauqeer Sheikh
• Refused to disclose Pakistani bank account details
• Pre-determined employment contract with LEAD India (issued 18 months before joining)
• Shadow employment arrangement to facilitate entry into India
• Salary 500% higher than reporting manager – FCRA violation
• Concealed funding source from Pakistan
• Primary beneficiary of Rs. 82.41 lakhs from Pakistani FCRA funds
• No oversight from LEAD India management-reported directly to Pakistan
• Transmission of CONFIDENTIAL report to Pakistan (August 5, 2014)
• Report contained reference to secret IB communication
• Advocated “Low Risk Low Visibility” strategy for Pakistani actors
• Recommended bypassing Central Government via State-level engagement
• Exploited Centre-State political tensions in intelligence report
• Joint pre-employment travel with Ali Tauqeer Sheikh (3 occasions)
• 6 unauthorized visits to Pakistan while at LEAD India
• 3 additional Pakistan visits after joining Oxford Policy Management

The Chief Minister also talked about Gaurav Gogoi, saying that in 2013, five months before his first Lok Sabha election win, Gogoi visited Pakistan via the land border after losing his passport during a trip to Israel. CM Sarma questioned the upgrade of Gogoi’s single-entry visa to multiple-entry upon arrival in Pakistan and his access to ISI strongholds in Pakistani cities amid ongoing border skirmishes.

As per the CM, while Gogoi’s visa was only for Lahore, after he reached Pakistan, his visa was extended to include visits to Islamabad and Karachi. This extension was granted based on a letter written by Pakistan’s interior ministry. CM Sarma said that the SIT has obtained the passport showing the endorsement for extending the visa locations.

As per the CM, Gogoi’s personality completely changed after visiting Pakistan, and raised parliamentary questions related to confidential matters, like Nuclear power plants, uranium reserves, border security, defence hardware and software, air power, domestic weapons manufacturing, espionage at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. He also asked questions on national water mission strategies, a matter linked to Elizabeth’s area of work.

The CM also showed a video clip from an interview, where Gaurav Gogoi had said that he visited Pakistan because his wife was working there. But the CM pointed out that his wife was transferred to LEAD India a year before his visit.

While Gaurav Gogoi’s daughter is a British citizen, as she was born in London, CM Sarma revealed that he had surrendered the Indian passport of his India-born son. He displayed the surrender certificate issued by the Regional Passport in Delhi, stating that the passport was surrendered on 12 May 2022. CM Sarma called it very regrettable that the son of former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi surrendered his son’s Indian passport.

Another serious allegation the CM made was that when son Kabir Gogoi had an Indian passport, his religion was mentioned as Hindu, but no religion is mentioned in his British passport. On the other hand, the British passport of daughter Maya Gogoi mentions her religion as Christian.

CM Sarma said that his son is being converted to Christianity, and Gaurav Gogoi is now a religious minority in his own family.

Himanta Sarma underscored the national security implications of these facts, stating, “The SIT has given proof that three persons have a direct link with Pakistan—Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, Elizabeth Gogoi, and Gaurav Gogoi. After seeing the SIT report, our cabinet ministers were shocked.”

He added that the probe, initially handled by Assam Police’s CID, revealed information requiring Interpol assistance and access to classified data out of the jurisdiction of Assam Police. The cabinet discussed the report on February 7 and authorised its partial disclosure today, excluding confidential elements. The cabinet has decided to refer the report to the Union Home Ministry for further investigation.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has also questioned why Elizabeth Colburn Gogoi retains her UK visa even so many years after her marriage with Gaurav Gogoi. He has also questioned why their children are also British citizens and why no application has been made for Indian citizenship.