Nalini Sriharan, Convict In Rajiv Gandhi Assassination, Sent Back To Prison After A Month's 'Vacation'

Nalini Sriharan, the assassin of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been sent back to the women's prison in Vellore after a spending a month outside the jail. The Madras High Court had granted her one month's parole to make arrangements for her daughter's wedding.

She had moved the Madras High Court in June seeking six months ordinary leave for her daughter’s wedding. Nalini, who has been in prison for over 27 years, had argued that a life convict is entitled to one-month leave once in two years and since she had never availed such ordinary leave, she should be granted them now.

She was initially sentenced to death for her involvement in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. However, her death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Tamil Nadu government on April 24, 2000. She claimed that after commutation of her death sentence, around 3,700 life convicts, who had served 10 years of imprisonment and less, were released by the Tamil Nadu government.

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The AIADMK government had adopted a resolution recommending Governor Banwarilal Purohit the release of seven convicts—Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran, Robert Payas and Nalini—serving life terms. Chief Minister K Palaniswami had said his government was committed to the release of the convicts and expressed hope the governor would act on the cabinet recommendation for setting them free.

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a LTTE suicide bomber during an election rally at Sriperumpudur near here on May 21, 1991. Nalini is only survising member of the five-member squad behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.