Where is Pawan Khera as Assam police knock on his door?

It was 11 am on Wednesday morning when I was once again standing outside D-12 in Delhi’s posh Nizamuddin East, the address that had turned into the centre of high political drama just a day earlier. This is the residence of Congress media cell chairman Pawan Khera, now untraceable, where Assam Police had arrived to question him over his allegations of holding multiple passports and offshore accounts against Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his family, claims involving.

As I stood there, a larger question loomed: how did a press conference spiral into a full-blown political flashpoint that could potentially sway voters on the eve of polling in Assam?

THE HUNT FOR KHERA BEGINS

Last morning had started like any other, with routine calls, checking in with sources, until my Bureau Chief, Munish Pandey, rang me up asking me to verify whether the police had reached Khera’s residence. I dialled Khera’s personal number immediately. There was no response. My next call was to one of his close aides, who confirmed that Assam Police were already at his doorstep.

Within minutes, I had flashed the update and gone live over the phone for India Today TV. I rushed to Nizamuddin East. At Gate No. 3, the usually quiet D Block was teeming with police personnel. The lane leading to Khera’s residence had been cordoned off. Having been there countless times for media interactions, my cameraperson and I managed to navigate our way in.

Nearly two hours later, Assam Police officials stepped out, saying that Pawan Khera was “untraceable” and that certain "incriminating materials" had been recovered from the premises. When I called one of his aides again, he told me, “I can’t disclose his location, but Kheraji is not in Delhi”. He hinted that Khera might address the media later that evening to back his allegations, a press conference that, even 24 hours later, had not taken place.

Meanwhile, the police action galvanised the Congress. From party president Mallikarjun Kharge to grassroots workers, leaders rallied behind Khera. Protests broke out outside Assam Bhawan in Delhi. Party insiders told me that Khera’s recent press conferences had sharpened the Congress’s attack on Himanta Biswa Sarma at a crucial juncture and could even tilt the balance in a state where the vote-share gap in the last Assembly election was under 2 per cent.

KHERA, NOW OUT OF SIGHT

When I returned to D-12 today, the house was eerily quiet. Apart from domestic staff, there was no sign of activity on the second floor. The media, which had swarmed the area a day earlier, was nowhere to be seen.

Multiple sources indicated that Khera may now be in Hyderabad, along with his wife, Kota Neelima, in what is being described as a temporary retreat to a Congress-ruled state. His phone remains switched off. Even the aide who had been in touch with me yesterday is now unreachable.

The Congress, however, has not let up. The party continues to accuse Himanta Sarma of using the police to intimidate political opponents and deflect attention from the allegations raised.

WHO IS KHERA AND WHY IS ASSAM POLICE AFTER HIM?

Pawan Khera is no stranger to the political circuit. He served as Officer on Special Duty and political secretary to former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit for over a decade, from 1998 to 2013. He later rose within the Congress ranks to become a national spokesperson and, in June 2022, was appointed chairman of the party’s media and publicity wing.

Known for his sharp political messaging, Khera had also made headlines in 2022 when, after missing out on a Rajya Sabha nomination, he tweeted, “Tapasya mein kami reh gai (There was a shortcoming in the penance)”, a remark that drew mixed reactions.

But it was his recent allegations against Himanta Sarma, the BJP's star face in the North East, that triggered the current storm. Khera claimed that the Assam Chief Minister’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, holds multiple passports – from the UAE, Egypt, and Antigua and Barbuda. He also alleged that the family has a Limited Liability Company in Wyoming in the US, purportedly worth Rs 53,000 crore, and that two Dubai properties linked to Sarma’s wife were not disclosed in election filings.

Those claims have now set off a chain reaction, one that has moved from a press briefing to a police probe, and from there to a political showdown with potential electoral consequences. As I stood outside that now-quiet residence, it was clear that the story was far from over.

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