Suicide squad charge levelled at Hindu leader

Police have charged a right-wing Hindu leader with incitement for calling on Hindus to form suicide squads to attack Muslims.

Police also charged Bal Thackeray - chief of the Shiv Sena party which is part of India’s ruling coalition - with spreading hatred between followers of the two religions, said Kripa Shankar, junior home minister in the western state of Maharashtra.

If convicted, Thackeray could be jailed for up to three years.

‘‘As a leader, he should not have said these things,’’ Shankar said.

Thackeray holds no official post, but is the powerful leader of the Bombay-based Shiv Sena, founded to serve the interests of poor Hindus.