Probe Kerala man's death, says RSS, denies abuse allegations

NEW DELHI: RSS has demanded an impartial probe into the death of a 26-year-old man from Kerala's Kottayam district and dismissed as "baseless" a social media post in which certain RSS functionaries were accused of sexually and physically abusing him during his childhood.

The man was found dead in a hotel room in Thampanoor in Thiruvananthapuram last week. The scheduled post surfaced soon after his death - a suspected case of suicide.

While Congress Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra termed the allegations "horrifying" and her party said RSS should be exposed "for destroying generations of youth", BJP hit back by accusing the opposition party of exploiting the tragedy for political mileage.

This is a conclusive confirmation of what was already known about RSS but was not openly discussed, Congress spokesman Pawan Khera said, even as the party questioned the Left govt for not naming the right-wing body in the FIR. He also questioned the silence of PM Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on the death.

In a statement, senior Kerala RSS functionary K B Sreekumar said, "The unnatural death of one of our swayamsevaks from Elikkulam is very sad and unfortunate. His family has been associated with the Sangh for several years. His father was a RSS karyakarta. At this sad and unfortunate moment, we stand with the family."

Calling for a comprehensive probe into the alleged suicide note, RSS said the allegations were "dubious and baseless". BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "The unfortunate death is very unfortunate and painful. We strongly demand an in-depth, free and fair inquiry at the earliest."