An Indian cabinet minister has resigned after a probe panel said there was strong suspicion he had a hand in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in which nearly 3,000 Sikhs were massacred in New Delhi.

The minister for expatriate Indians, Jagdish Tytler, said he had submitted his resignation to Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress party, and asked her to forward it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The resignation came within hours after Prime Minister Singh assured agitated members of parliament that action would be taken against those named in the report.

The report said there is "credible evidence" Mr. Tytler "very probably" had a hand in organizing the riots that followed then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards.

But the government ruled out taking any action against the junior minister, saying prosecution could not take place on the basis of "probability."