A US-based human rights watchdog has asked the Indian government to investigate the role of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] in fake encounters in the context of his reported statement "endorsing the extra-judicial execution of a terrorism suspect" by police.

"Modi's remarks send a green light to the police that executing terrorism suspects is fine with his administration," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

"The government in Delhi should immediately investigate this seeming incitement to violence," Adams added.

The Gujarat chief minister was referring to the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in 2005 by the police, who at the time claimed that he was a terrorist and killed in an encounter.

But since then it has become clear that there was no evidence to pin him as a terrorist and that he was killed in a fake encounter.

Recalling the incident, the Human Rights Watch said that his wife is still missing.

Rejecting Modi's explanation that he was responding to the allegation by Congress president Sonia Gandhi [Images] branding his government as "merchant of death," Adam said Modi cannot hide behind accusation of provocation to justify remarks "endorsing a murder".

"He used similar excuses after the police participated in a killing spree of Muslims in 2002, but his pretexts were as hollow then as they are today," he added.