Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

PATNA: The Bihar Police Special Branch , the intelligence wing of the state police which briefs chief minister Nitish Kumar (who is also home minister) on sensitive issues, was directed to gather "detailed information" on the state functionaries of the RSS and its 17 subsidiary outfits in a letter issued by the SP (Special Branch) on May 28, two days before the swearing-in of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

The letter - a copy of which is with TOI - had been addressed to all deputy SPs of Special Branch and asked them to furnish information such as names, addresses, posts and occupations of RSS office-bearers.

JD(U) national secretary-general K C Tyagi called it a routine issue. "This is a routine matter, which the police or the intelligence wing of every state or the central government does from time to time. It should not be construed as an attempt either to target or malign the image of any organisation."

A senior BJP leader, on the other hand, remarked, "There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. After all, RSS is a nationalist organisation."

The senior officers assigned to field duty had been asked to treat the letter, copies of which were also forwarded to the ADG, IG and DIG of Special Branch, as urgent and provide the relevant information within a week.

The current SP (G), Special Branch, Kartikey Sharma, whose office had issued the letter, said, "I have no idea about any such letter. I assumed charge as SP (G) recently. I was not in the post when the letter, as you have mentioned, was issued." He did not confirm if his office had received the relevant data from the officers concerned.

However, another officer, who did not want to be named, said, "Do you think any officer will delay in submitting the report? It was clearly mentioned in the letter to accord top priority to it."

Additional chief secretary (home) Amir Subhani could not be reached for comment. ADG (Special Branch) J S Gangwar was also not available for comment. A senior home department official, however, said nobody would comment on this "sensitive issue".

Apart from RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagran Samiti, Hindu Rashtra Sena, Dharma Jagran Samiti, Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, Durga Vahini, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Sikha Bharti, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Hindu Mahasabha, Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh, Hindu Yuva Vahini, Hindu Putra Sangathan, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Bhartiya Railway Sangh, and Muslim Rashtriya Sangh are also mentioned in the memo.

Another senior RSS leader clarified that the names of many organisations have been wrongly mentioned in the letter. The list contained even a few non-existent ones. "This indicates how the intelligence wing of the state police functions in the state," he said, adding that altogether 37 subsidiary organisations of the RSS were active across the country.

