US court summons Indian PM

Two survivors are seeking to sue Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings and trauma suffered by their families during the communal riots in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

Lawyers for rights group the American Justice Center filed the complaint on behalf of the plaintiffs on Thursday. Modi was the state's chief minister at the time the violence broke out, and now has 21 days to respond.

"There is evidence to support the conclusion that minister Modi committed both acts of intentional and malicious direction to authorities in India to kill and maim innocent persons of the Muslim faith," the petition filed to the federal court said.

It added that justice for the plaintiffs could not be obtained in India because of the "condoning of this genocidal act of state-sanctioned terrorism."

At least 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed in the rioting that erupted after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was set on fire in February 2002. Following the violence, Modi, a Hindu nationalist, was blamed for not doing enough to stop reprisal attacks on minorities - an accusation he has consistently denied.

The American Justice Center's director, John Bradley, told Indian news agency IANS that the case against Prime Minister Modi would send "an unequivocal message to human rights abusers everywhere."

First trip to the US

Modi is due to arrive in the US on Friday for a five-day trip, during which he is expected to address the UN General Assembly in New York, before meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington. It will be the first meeting between the two leaders after Modi swept to power in a landslide election win in May.

In the aftermath of the 2002 riots, many Western countries such as Germany, the UK, and the US cut ties with Modi, citing his role in the communal violence. Modi was denied a visa to the US from 2005 under a 1998 US law that bars entry to foreigners alleged to have committed severe freedom violations.

The Indian government is yet to respond to the New York court's summons, and federal Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he had not yet heard about it.

"We will examine it if it comes," he said.

Previously, cases filed against Modi by alleged riot victims have been dismissed by Indian courts due to lack of evidence.

nm/jr (dpa, AP, AFP, Reuters)