[Assam] ‘Gogoi family has Rs 18-crore property in US’

[Nava Thakuria]

Gogoi involved in embezzlement: KMSS

GUWAHATI, Jan 8 – Peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti today 
alleged that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is involved in embezzling the public 
money of the State and part of the money laundered by him has been siphoned off 
to the US to procure property there in the names of members of his family. 

 
‘Gogoi family has Rs 18-crore property in US’ 
The peasant organisation also demanded a CBI inquiry into the allegation and 
dared the Chief Minister to make a public statement on the source of the money 
used in procuring property in the US. 

Addressing mediapersons at a press conference here this afternoon, KMSS 
secretary Akhil Gogoi alleged that the Chief Minister has several houses in the 
US in the names of his wife Dolly Gogoi (12700 W Dodge Road, Omaha NE 69154), 
daughter Chandrima Gogoi (701 Berry Ave, Los Angeles C A 94024) and son-in-law 
Prasenjit Phukan (178 Ownes Ct Mountain View C A 94043; 143 Albany St, Cambridge 
MA 02139 and Los Altos CA 94022). 

The money value of these houses when added together would be Rs 17, 88, 45, 050. 
His daughter had declared while acquiring the property that her average annual 
income was Rs 64, 42, 650, while her husband Prasenjit Phukan had made three 
declarations stating that his average annual incomes were Rs 64, 42, 650, Rs 34, 
36,050 and Rs 72, 71, 250. Chief Minster's wife Dolly Gogoi declared that her 
average annual income was Rs 29, 18, 650. 

The peasant organisation alleged that the Chief Minister requisitioned the 
services of his 'scam-tainted' Ministerial colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma to 
transfer part of the looted money to the US through hawala. This is why the 
Chief Minister has so far been maintaining silence over the issue of Himanta 
Biswa Sarma embezzling the public money of the State. 

The peasant organisation has collected the information concerning the US 
property of the Chief Minister's family by using the website intelius. com, said 
the KMSS secretary. 

It has hit out at Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief Bhubaneswar 
Kalita for his 'halfhearted approach' in the matter of the corruption indulged 
in by Himanta Biswa Sarma. 

The peasant organisation is holding a massive demonstration against corruption 
at the Dispur Last Gate from 11 am on January 10 and it has appealled to all 
patriotic people to take part in the programme. Noted RTI activist Arvind 
Kezriwal and national convenor of the National Alliance of People's Movement Dr 
Sandip Pandey will take part in the demonstration, said the KMSS secretary.  

  
 
GUWAHATI, Jan 8: Launching a scathing attack on Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, 
Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) general secretary Akhil Gogoi today gave a 
detailed account of property worth around Rs 18 crore in the form of houses 
owned by the Chief Minister’s wife, daughter and son-in-law in the US. The KMSS 
leader has dared the three to disclose their sources of income. He has also 
demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter in order to unmask the truth.
Addressing a press conference at the Guwahati Press Club today, the KMSS leader 
said: “According to documents produced by Gogoi’s wife Dolly Gogoi and daughter 
Chandrima Gogoi while purchasing one house each in the US, their annual incomes 
are Rs 29.18 lakh and Rs 64.42 lakh respectively. Gogoi’s son-in-law Prasenjit 
Phukan, however, showed three different annual incomes — Rs 64.42 lakh, Rs 34.36 
lakh and Rs 72.71 lakh — while purchasing three different houses in the US. I 
appeal to the three to make their sources of annual income public.”
“We have no way out but to unmask the Chief Minister who has not paid any heed 
to the deadline set by us for him to take action against his corrupt Cabinet 
colleague, Himanta Biswa Sarma. It was followed by a 48-hour deadline set by us 
for Gogoi to reply as to why he was not taking any action against the corrupt 
minister though we had brought many corrupt practices of the minister to light. 
We have to open our mouth today as the deadline set for the Chief Minister is 
over,” Akhil Gogoi said, and added that minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was the key 
man behind all the scams that had taken place during the tenure of Tarun Gogoi. 
“Though we have exposed all the corrupt practices of Himanta Biswa Sarma, Gogoi 
doesn’t take action against him as he is afraid of being unmasked if the 
minister opens his mouth.”
The KMSS leader said: “Since when we have started our tirade against corruption, 
people, including those staying abroad, have started to come on their own and 
feed us with information. With the information received from NRIs, we have 
approached the US embassy that has shown us the way to proceed. By making online 
payment through a website (www.intelius.com) by credit cards, we have got access 
to the documents of purchase of the houses by the family members of the Chief 
Minister.”
The KMSS leader further said that apprehensive of being blackmailed by Himanta 
Biswa Sarma, Gogoi ‘‘is now trying to keep Sarma at a safe distance from all 
matters relating to the State administration’’. Himanta Biswa Sarma, according 
to the KMSS leader, is the key man behind sending the ill-gotten money from the 
State to foreign countries through hawala. “We will soon file cases against 
Sarma in the Supreme Court and the High Court,” he added. 

Coming down heavily on Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president 
Bhubaneswar Kalita, Akhil Gogoi said: “The Congress has failed to take action 
against corrupt Himanta Biswa Sarma due to the weak leadership of Kalita.” He 
also took a dig at the opposition parties by saying that despite the KMSS 
exposing a large number of corrupt practices of the State Government, the 
Opposition had failed to put adequate pressure on the government to act against 
corrupt ministers.    
Meanwhile, reacting to Akhil Gogoi’s revelations, AGP president Chandra Mohan 
Patowary said: “Last year, the Chief Minister had announced that his government 
would construct houses for flood- and erosion-affected people of the State. 
Though the erosion-affected people have not got the promised houses, Gogoi has 
successfully built a number of houses in the US. This is the real man hiding 
within ‘clean’ Gogoi.”
 
Akhil dares CM to reveal assets- RTI activist demands CBI inquiry   
  
Akhil Gogoi shows a photograph of Tarun Gogoi’s property in the US at the press 
conference. Picture by Eastern Projections  

Guwahati, Jan. 8: Peasant leader and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi today claimed that 
family members and relatives of chief minister Tarun Gogoi possessed property 
worth over Rs 17 crore in the US and dared the latter to make public the sources 
of the assets, including five houses.
Akhil, also the general secretary of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), said 
there were five houses in the name of the chief minister’s wife Dolly Gogoi, 
daughter Chandrima and son-in-law Prasenjit Phukan at different locations in the 
US. 

“The information collected by us showed that there was a house in the name of 
Dolly Gogoi at Omaha and another at Los Altos in his daughter’s name. Three 
houses in the name of his son-in-law Prasenjit Phukan are located at Cambridge, 
Mountain View and Los Altos. We have strong suspicion that the property was 
procured with public money and hence we dare the chief minister to let the 
people of Assam know the source. We also demand a CBI inquiry into the assets,” 
Akhil Gogoi said at a press conference.
Giving details and producing photographs of the houses, Akhil said the People’s 
Interest Research Group, formed by the KMSS, collected the information with the 
help of the American embassy and an information commerce company, intelius.com, 
which provides consumers and businesses with predictive intelligence for 
important decisions.
The chief minister’s office said Gogoi would comment after his return from New 
Delhi. Media adviser Debo Bora told The Telegraph, “The chief minister will 
react once he is back.”
Akhil alleged that huge corruption had taken place during Gogoi’s tenure. “The 
Congress high command, including Sonia Gandhi, has been claiming that the party 
is committed to fight corruption but we have seen no action against Gogoi, 
health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other ministers involved in scams in 
Dima Hasao district, Karbi Anglong and other departments,” the RTI activist 
said.
Akhil, also the recipient of two national RTI awards, said they would launch a 
massive campaign against the Tarun Gogoi government ahead of the forthcoming 
Assembly elections.
“We will organise a dharna and observe a hatred day on Monday at Dispur Last 
Gate to protest the massive corruption. Activist Sandip Pandey and Arvin 
Kejriwal will take part and we request all concerned citizens to join us and 
protest the corruption of the Congress government in Assam,” he said.
Akhil said four cases would be filed against Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tarun Gogoi 
in the Supreme Court and Gauhati High court soon relating to disproportionate 
assets and criminal cases.