WASHINGTON, May 4 IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice called for a "clear investigation" into the anti-Muslim riots in the western Indian state of Gujarat that left more than 900 people dead, in an interview published Friday. 

Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, Rice said: "There needs to be a clear investigation of those events and the right thing needs to be done. 

"We believe the [Prime Minister Atal Behari] Vajpayee government will do the right thing and we'll encourage them to do the right thing," she said. 

The Indian government has come under fire from human rights groups and opposition parties over the riots in Gujarat, in which Hindu nationalists linked to Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist BJP party allegedly took part in attacks on the Muslim minority. 

The attacks on Muslims broke out after a train of Hindu hardliners was torched on February 27, killing 58 people. 

The Indian government states that Muslims initiated the events of that day, however, it has provided no conclusive proof on the matter amid conflicting reports that Hindu hardliners provoked and harassed Muslims both on the train and at stations. 

Rice’s call for an investigation comes on the heels of a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on April 30 charging Gujarat state officials of participation in the attacks against Muslims and its attempts to massively “cover up the state’s role in the violence.” 

The state of Gujarat is the only Indian state controlled by the ruling BJP party. 

Reports also surfaced that anti-Muslim attacks were pre-planned, as Smita Narula, senior South Asia researcher for HRW and author of the report, said, "What happened in Gujarat was not a spontaneous uprising, it was a carefully orchestrated attack against Muslims." 

"The attacks were planned in advance and organized with extensive participation of the police and state government officials," she continued. 

HRW also charges that police officials in some cases, under the guise of offering protection, led Muslims into the hands of attackers. 

Gujarat police officials’ attitude and lack of aid exemplified itself in the title of HRW’s report, where police told frantic Muslims seeking aid that, “We have no orders to protect you.” 

Violence against Muslims took the form of beatings, rapes and murder, in a three-day killing spree following the train incident. 

HRW said the attackers were clad in the signature uniform of Hindu nationalist groups, saffron scarves and khaki shorts, and armed with swords, sophisticated explosives, and gas cylinders. 

Voter lists and printouts of addresses of Muslim-owned properties-information obtained from the local municipality guided them. HRW alludes that the only source for these computer-generated lists could only have come from official state sources. 

HRW explicitly states that India’s ruling party, the BJP, along with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP), the Bajrang Dal, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, participated in the anti-Muslim violence. 

Asked why the United States has been largely reticent over the riots while the European Union has expressed concern, Rice said: "Because we believe that India is a great democracy, that the Vajpayee government is leading India well and that it will do the right thing when it comes to investigating the violence and the acts of violence." 

Rice said the United States believed India was "a good partner." 

Washington has been aggressively developing ties with New Delhi since the late 1990s, shifting from the U.S. alliance with Pakistan during the Cold War.