New Delhi/Chennai: AG Perarivalan, the assassin of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi has been set free by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. He along with Nalini and her husband Murugan alias Sriharan had been convicted of murdering Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991.
Stating the Article 142 of the Constitution, “it’s appropriate to release the convict, citing special powers of the Supreme Court,” justice L Nageshwara Rao said.
Perarivalan was accused of arranging two 9-volt batteries for Sivarasan, the mastermind of killing Rajiv Gandhi. The batteries were used in making a human bomb to kill Rajiv Gandhi. He was among the seven convicts who were arrested on 11 June 1991 from Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
This verdict could clear the way for the release of Nalini and Murugan too.
Perarivalan was already on bail for the last two months granted by the apex court because of his nice behavior and no complaints when out on parole. In 1999, the Supreme Court upheld Perarivalan’s death sentence and shorten it to life imprisonment in 2014.
Perarivalan’s mother and Tamil Nadu’s CM, MK Stalin expressed their joy and welcomed Supreme Court’s decision. Perarivalan soon on his release thanked everyone for their love and support.
The Congress blamed the Centre for playing petty and cheap politics to get a convict released for murdering the former prime minister of India.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “we are extremely disappointed with the Supreme Court’s verdict. A terrorist is a terrorist and should be treated like one”.
Perarivalan was 19 years old when he was booked under the TADA (Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act for aiding Sriharan, a member of LTTE (Liberal Tiger of Tamil Eelam), a militant organization operating in Sri Lanka. A year later, TADA was taken down from all the convicts.
A total of 26 people were accused of killing Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 but Supreme Court freed 19 of them in 1998.
Sriharan, Perarivalan, and one other convict appealed to then-President Pratima Patil for a mercy petition which was rejected by her after 11 years in 2011.
On 11 May 2022 Supreme Court finally concluded the verdict and released Perarivalan.
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