NEW DELHI, Jan 24: New Delhi is abuzz with speculations since Thursday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could be exiled to India.

The Times of India in its web-based edition said that Saddam could be seeking and perhaps be given asylum in India.

With the US gunning for Saddam Hussein, one possible “escape route” that has been offered to the beleaguered President of Iraq is exile to India, it said.

It quoted “highly placed government sources” in New Delhi as saying the proposal of India as a “neutral” territory for Saddam to inhabit has been put to the Iraqi regime by the CIA.

“While no official response has been forthcoming from India, the London office of RAW, the (foreign) intelligence wing of the Indian government, has been informed of the suggestion,” it quoted the sources as saying.

“India is the only location Saddam can be exiled where he cannot be a potential threat unlike any other country,” the Times quoted one official as saying.

“The US is keenly seeking means to dislodge Saddam, which will dissipate any chances of war, a step that is likely to meet with severe civilian casualties,” the newspaper said.—Jay Enn