DMK MP congratulates man convicted in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case for early release
12 May 2022 12:11:54
Chennai, May 12 : A row of controversy erupted after a DMK MP, Dr. Senthilkumar congratulate A G Perarivalan, a man convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case for his early release from the jail. Dr. Senthilkumar is a DMK MP from Dharmapuri parliamentary constituency in Tamil Nadu.
Taking to social media, DMK MP shared a picture of Perarivalan and cleverly wrote ‘Congratulations’ in Tamil, a native language of Tamil Nadu. It should be highlighted that the native language of TN is not widely understood or known in other parts of the country.
It is worth noting that Perarivalan was jailed for procuring nine-volt batteries, which were allegedly used in the improvised explosive device (IED) that had killed Rajiv Gandhi. The former PM was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in May 1991.
After serving in jail for decades, Perarivalan moved a mercy petition to seek clemency. Then in February 2014, the Supreme Court commuted Perarivalan’s death sentence to life imprisonment, citing the Centre’s 11-year delay in deciding mercy petitions.
Perarivalan subsequently applied for a pardon on 30 December 2015. Close to three years later, in 2018, the Supreme Court asked the Governor to decide the pardon plea as he deemed fit. In 2018, the Council of Ministers of the Tamil Nadu government also recommended the release of 7 convicts, including Perarivalan.
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Recently, files on the premature release of seven Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts were referred to the President by Governor RN Ravi. The Supreme Court had then pulled up the Governor, stating that he was bound by the state cabinet’s decision to release AG Perarivalan, who had served 36 years of his life term in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and castigated his action of sending the mercy plea to the President. The top court has reserved its verdict on the plea filed by AG Perarivalan seeking premature release from jail.
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