News In Brief

Gandhi denies she had spoken of Sikh separatist ties with US

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi emphatically denied yesterday that she had spoken of links between Washington and Sikh separatists. Nearly all Indian newspapers published reports quoting Mrs. Gandhi as saying a ''Washington-based espionage agency'' had backed the separatists. A Gandhi press spokesman, Sharad Prasad, said the prime minister only repeated what she had said before, that ''the Sikh separatist movement has its origins and support from abroad.''

The United States has strongly denied any involvement by the CIA or any other part of the US government in India's internal affairs.