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UK charity commission to probe VHP, HSS

The United Kingdom charity commission has launched a preliminary investigation into allegations of terrorist activities being linked to the UK chapters of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh.

The VHP's UK general secretary, Kishore Ruparelia, was not available for comment, while the chief of SEWA International, an independent charity linked to the HSS, said they had not received any letter from the charity commission till Saturday morning.

But a spokesman for the charity commission said they had contacted the trustees of the VHP-UK and HSS to provide more details of their operations.

Several Islamic organisations based in London have recently demanded a ban on the UK chapters of the VHP, HSS, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and a probe into their accounts, alleging that they were responsible for attacks on Muslims in Gujarat.

Lord Adam Patel resigned as a patron of SEWA International, a charity linked to the HSS, last week, accusing it of being a front for 'military activity', "which incites racial hatred and is both outrageous and offending", a charge denied by the organisation.

C B Patel, another patron of SEWA International, welcomed the probe. "If anybody can prove that it is being used for terrorists activities," he said, "I am prepared to resign straightaway."

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