Arputhammal, mother of A.G. Perarivalan, one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, sought an early decision from the Governor to release him and six others, accepting the decision of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet.
Ms. Arputhammal told presspersons here on Thursday that various points, such as considering the views of the families of 14 others who had been affected, were now putforth to stall the release of the seven.
She said that in the Mumbai bomb blasts, 257 people lost their lives. In this case (Rajiv Gandhi assassination), at least there were cadre of political parties, police personnel, but in the Mumbai blasts, these 257 were common citizens who lost their lives, she said. “Has anyone raised their voice for these 257 people? In fact, Sanjay Dutt, one of the accused, was released before his prison term ended,” she said and added that no view was sought from the families of the 257 killed in the Mumbai blasts whether Sanjay Dutt could be released or not. “But here, they are raising issues that the families of the 14 people are objecting,” she said.
“It is an extremely unfortunate event that Rajiv Gandhi was killed. It should not have happened. Unfortunately, it has happened. But it was my son who raised the point that the investigation did not find who the real culprits were,” Ms. Arputhammal said.
She said it had not been conclusively proved that the 9-volt battery bought by Perarivalan was used for the bomb used to kill Rajiv Gandhi. “It has not been proven till date,” she added.
