The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday granted parole of 30 days to life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, AG Perarivalan. This is the first time in 26 years that the convict is being granted parole.
The orders from the state government were sent to Vellore prison on Thursday. This comes after a petition was submitted to the government by Perarivalan’s mother Arputham Ammal asking for one-month parole for the treatment of her husband.
However, several petitions filed by her have been rejected by the government in the past.
The Additional Chief Secretary to the Tamil Nadu government has granted the parole with a condition that a strong police escort must be provided to him, stated a report.
Many political leaders and activists have been asking for the release of Perarivalan. DMK working President MK Stalin had also raised this issue in the Assembly and sought for Perarivalan's parole from the government.
In 1998, the Supreme Court had sentenced Perarivalan to death. The judgement had said, "AG Perarivalan alias Arivu (A-18) was sentenced to death for purchasing the 9-volt battery used in the belt-bomb which Dhanu strapped around her waist. A single passage in his confessional statement made clear that this battery was used in the bomb. Since the only way he could have known this was prior to the blast, and on the basis of corroborative evidence, the judges came to the conclusion that Arivu had prior knowledge of the assassination attempt."
After multiple mercy petitions, the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment in February 2014.