Chennai:
Nalini Sriharan, one of six convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was released on Saturday by order of the Supreme Court, said it was a new life for her and added that She will not participate in public life.
“It’s a new life with my husband and daughter. I won’t partake in cohabitation. I thank the Tamils for supporting me for over 30 years. I thank both the state and central governments I spoke to my daughter,” she said in her first comments after being released from prison.
The Supreme Court ordered the release of Nalini Sriharan and five others convicted in the 1991 murder of Rajiv Gandhi, drawing stiff criticism from the main opposition Congress party.
However, the decision was welcomed by many in Tamil Nadu, where their detention is an emotional issue as many believe that the seven locals convicted were part of a conspiracy without knowing the extent of the crime. its degree.
The court said its decision was based on the good behavior of the prisoners and the May release of AG Perarivalan, another convicted person in the case, who said he was 19 years old at the time of his arrest. and was imprisoned for more than 30 years. , with 29 of those in solitary confinement.
Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber while campaigning for an election in Sriperumbudur of Tamil Nadu in May 1991 by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan group.
The killing of Rajiv Gandhi was seen as an act of retaliation after he sent Indian peacekeepers to Sri Lanka in 1987, only to withdraw after losing more than 1,200 men in battle and facing charges. forced human rights violations in this island nation.
