British Charge 4 Asians With Conspiracy to Murder Gandhi During Official Visit

Four Asian men were charged Wednesday with conspiracy to murder Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during his official visit to Britain which ended Tuesday night, police said.

Police in this central English city refused to give the men’s names, ages or religion. But Press Association, Britain’s domestic news agency, said they are Sikhs. Leicester police said the four men will appear in court today.

Sikh extremists were responsible for the assassination last Oct. 31 of Gandhi’s mother, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Last Friday, police arrested 11 Sikh and Kashmiri separatists throughout England under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in what news reports alleged was a plot to assassinate the Indian leader. Sikh and Kashmiri leaders denounced the detentions as political acts designed to placate the Indian government.

During his visit to Britain, his first since succeeding his mother as prime minister, Gandhi discussed with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ways of increasing cooperation between their two countries in the fight against international terrorists.