Pawan Khera Seeks Anticipatory Bail Amid Assam Police Investigation

On Wednesday, April 8, Congress leader Pawan Khera submitted a petition for anticipatory bail in the Telangana High Court. This action comes in response to a complaint filed against him by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sharma. The Assam police initiated a case against Khera after he alleged that Sarma's wife possessed multiple passports and foreign assets that were not disclosed in the Chief Minister's election affidavit. The petition seeks anticipatory bail to facilitate appeals in Assam's courts. The Telangana High Court, presided over by Justice K. Sujana, is scheduled to hear the petition on Thursday.

The Assam police have registered a case against Khera for defamation, fraud, and criminal conspiracy. The FIR was lodged at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station under various sections, including 175 (false statement related to elections), 35, 36, 318 (fraud), 338 (fraudulent will, bail, etc.), 337 (forgery of court records or public registers), 340 (creating forged documents or electronic records), 352 (deliberate insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 356 (defamation).

Following the Chief Minister's complaint, a team from the Assam police visited Khera's residence in Delhi on Tuesday to question him and conduct a search related to the case. However, Khera was not present at the location. Speaking to reporters outside Khera's home, Assam police DCP Debojit Nath stated that Khera was unavailable. Nonetheless, a search was carried out, and electronic devices were confiscated. Nath mentioned that some "objectionable material" was found, but details could not be disclosed at this stage. He also confirmed that a case had been registered at the Guwahati Crime Branch police station.