Guwahati: Amid social media uproar, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday firmly refuted allegations that a Bangladeshi national had enrolled at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, calling the claims baseless and backed by a thorough investigation.
“We have conducted a thorough inquiry and can categorically confirm that no such student from Bangladesh is enrolled at IIT Guwahati. IIT Guwahati is a hugely responsible and internationally respected institution,” CM Sarma posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The statement was issued in response to viral claims from an X handle, which alleged that a Bangladeshi student had managed to gain admission using fake credentials and by impersonating an Indian Hindu. Although the original post has since been deleted, the same account followed up with another claim: “Bangladeshi Jihadis are using photos of Hindus with fake Muslim names to spread misinformation and create confusion. The real person in this picture is a Hindu named Chandan Dey. We have deleted our previous tweet. We’re also glad to see how the Assam govt is working 24×7 to tackle Bangladeshi infiltrators!! They took instant action to trace the details.”
While the issue had the potential to ignite political controversy, CM Sarma made it clear that the narrative being pushed was not grounded in facts. He emphasized that IIT Guwahati, being a prestigious institution, maintains stringent admission protocols that cannot be bypassed by external manipulation.
The controversy surfaced just days after CM Sarma took aim at Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi and his family, claiming that Gogoi’s children were not Indian citizens and questioning his visit to Pakistan. “I have evidence that Gaurav Gogoi’s son and daughter are not Indian citizens. We are examining what he did there (Pakistan) for 15 days. There is no tourism place in Pakistan; it is only a terrorist adda,” Sarma alleged. “It is 100 per cent confirmed that he went there, but what did he do there in 15 days?”
