Santhan, acquitted in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, dies in Chennai

Santhan, one of the seven convicts released in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, died at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai, hospital officials said on Wednesday.

Sri Lankan national Santhan was released from Vellore Central Jail along with five other convicts in November 2022 following the Supreme Court’s decision after spending more than 32 years in jail.

Rajiv’s killers were released by the apex court on the basis of good conduct in jail.

Last week, the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) under the Union Ministry of External Affairs provided an emergency travel document for Santhan, making his return to Sri Lanka possible.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a female suicide bomber named Dhanu at an election rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu on the night of May 21, 1991. At least 13 people were killed in the blast, and more than 40 were injured. (ANI)

Seven convicts, including Nalini Sriharan, RP Ravichandran, Jayakumar, Santhan, Murugan, Robert Payas and AG Perarivalan, were sentenced to death for their roles in the murder. However, Santhan, along with five other convicts – Nalini Sriharan, Sriharan, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran – were released from different jails, after being incarcerated for more than 32 years.

In the year 2000, Nalini Sriharan’s sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. Later in 2014, the sentence of the remaining six convicts was also reduced and in the same year, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalitha recommended the release of all the seven convicts in the case.

This story is sourced from third party syndicated feeds, agencies. Mid-Day does not accept any responsibility or liability for its accuracy, reliability, reliability and data of the text. Mid-Day Management/Mid-Day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove any content (without notice) at its sole discretion for any reason.