Nalini Sriharan, the released convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, expressed hope that she and her husband Murugan, alias Sriharan, co-convict in the case, would soon be able to visit the U.K. where their daughter Harithra Sriharan lives.
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Addressing media in Chennai on Sunday, she appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to release Murugan from the special camp for Sri Lankan refugees in Tiruchi and help him reunite with his daughter. Murugan, who was also released on Saturday following the Supreme Court order, was taken to the refugee camp along with three other convicts as they were all Sri Lankan nationals.
Ms. Nalini said she would be meeting her husband at the refugee camp in Tiruchi on Monday to discuss the course of action to be taken for travelling to the U.K. She said their daughter was not in a position to come to India and, hence, they intended to travel to the U.K. to be with her.
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Meeting with Priyanka Gandhi
Ms. Nalini recalled her meeting with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in 2008 in prison for an hour, and said the latter had posed questions about her father’s assassination. She said Ms. Vadra was emotional and cried. She, however, avoided talking in detail about the meeting as it was personal. A month after the meet, Ms. Vadra said the meeting with Ms. Nalini was her way of coming to peace with the violence and loss she had experienced.
When asked whether she would meet the Gandhi family, Ms. Nalini said she was still hesitant to do that because of the loss they incurred. However, she said she would meet them if they wanted to.
She thanked Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and leaders of various political parties who helped in her release. Expressing her intent to thank Mr. Stalin in person, she, however, said she did not want the meeting to cause any issues for the Chief Minister, as happened after his meeting with A.G. Perarivalan (another convict in the case who was released in May).