TN people wish Rajiv Gandhi murder convicts to be released: Stalin to President

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday wrote a letter to President seeking remission of the life sentence of seven jailed convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case and requested for their immediate release.

Stalin, in his letter, said that all the seven convicts -- Murugan, Nalini, A.G. Perarivalan, Santhan, Robert Pious, Jayakumar and Ravichandran -- have been undergoing the "agony of imprisonment" as being incarcerated for over three decades. He also noted the will of the people in the state that they should be released on humanitarian concerns.

The Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK government had earlier written two letters to the Tamil Nadu Governor for the release of all the seven convicts but the Governor had returned the file.

Stalin, in his letter, requested the President to use his discretionary powers and to give clemency to the seven convicts. The Chief Minister has already given an order for the release of Perarivalan on healthy grounds for 30 days acting on the prayer of his mother Arputham Ammal who had written a letter to him.

"The majority of the political parties in Tamil Nadu have been requesting for the remission of the remainder of their sentence and for the immediate release of all the 7 convicts as they have been incarcerated for about three decades. It is also the will of the people of Tamil Nadu," said Chief Minister Stalin

The seven convicts were arrested in 1991 after the assassination of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The convicts were part of LTTE, and Tamil Nadu has passed several resolutions in the state Assembly to release them. The DMK in its manifesto released ahead of the assembly elections earlier this year had promised efforts to secure the release of seven convicts.