Rajiv Gandhi's killers to press for commuting their death sentence

(From left) Perarivalan,Murugan and SanthanPresident Pratibha Patil's decision to reject the mercy petitions of three convicts, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, involved in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, has triggered a series of protests in Tamil Nadu. MDMK's Vaiko and Tamil nationalists belonging to various groups are demanding that their death sentences be immediately scrapped.There is likely to be a fresh attempt to challenge the rejection of the mercy petition by the president, either in the Supreme Court or in the Madras High Court, citing inordinate delay in judicial procedure and execution of sentence as mitigating factors. Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan have also decided to approach the Centre and the state government under Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution, seeking commutation of their death sentences to life by the president and governor respectively.The three men, along with Nalini whose death penalty was commuted to life, have already spent 20 years in prison. Nalini was indoctrinated by Murugan and Santhan. Perarivalan, also known as Arivu, has an engineering diploma and was held for helping procure nine-volt batteries for the belt-bomb that suicide bomber Dhanu used. He also assembled the bomb. The special court set up under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act sentenced all 26 accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to death in 1998. The Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence for four and acquitted the rest.Arputham Ammal, Perarivalan's mother, in her early 70s, says, "When Nalini, the A-1 (prime accused), could be pardoned, why is my son, who is only A-18, on death row? He has spent the last 20 years of his life in prison for no fault of his. We have been dying every day in these 20 years. What other punishment do we need?" Talking to India Today, P. Pugazhendhi and M. Radhakrishnan, counsel for Nalini, say: "Since the decision to reject the mercy petitions was taken by the president 11 years after the submission of the petition on April 26, 2000, the convicts can plead for commuting the sentence to life, citing the mental agony they have undergone."The protesters are now seeking Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's intervention to save Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan from the gallows. And if all efforts fail, there is another factor to consider: there are no hangmen in the state. The last hanging in Tamil Nadu took place in Salem in 1995 when 'Auto' Shankar was executed for the serial murders he committed in Chennai.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Aug 20, 2011 11:06 IST--- ENDS ---

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Rajiv Gandhi's killers to press for commuting their death sentence

Rajiv Gandhi's killers to press for commuting their death sentence, citing inordinate delay.

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