NIA must probe Aseemanand charges: CPI-M

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) should probe charges that the RSS leadership was linked to terror attacks carried out by Hindu groups, the CPI-M said Tuesday.

"The explosive material revealed in (an) article based on interviews given by Aseemanand to 'The Caravan' magazine raise very serious questions which require further investigation," the CPI-M said in a statement.

"Aseemanand has revealed his links with the top leadership of the RSS while planning the series of terrorist bomb blasts on civilian targets," it said.

Aseemanand is implicated in three terrorist attacks in which 82 people were killed and is under investigation in other terror cases too.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist said he was known to be working in the tribal areas of Gujarat with the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, which is allied with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Aseemananda reportedly told the magazine that it was in Gujarat, after a RSS meeting in Surat in July 2005, that Mohan Bhagwat, now the RSS leader, along with Indresh Kumar went to a temple where Aseemanand was living and discussed plans to bomb several Muslim targets around India.

"Although the interview has been denied by a legal representative of Aseemanand, the publication has stated that the interview has been taped and all tapes are available.

"In such a situation and in view of the grave implications the reported actions of certain RSS leaders have on national security and integrity, it is essential for the NIA to immediately and urgently investigate the revelations and take appropriate action."