Parole for Rajiv Gandhi case convict AG Perarivalan
The life convict's death sentence had been commuted to life term by the Supreme Court in 2014.
Chennai: A.G. Perarivalan, serving life term for his role in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, will walk out of the Vellore Central Prison on parole for the first time after he was arrested in 1991.
The Tamil Nadu Government on Thursday granted a 30-day parole for Perarivalan to meet his ailing 74-year-old father Gnanasekaran, who is suffering from several ailments. The life convict’s death sentence had been commuted to life term by the Supreme Court in 2014.
A letter signed by Additional Chief Secretary Niranjan Mardi to the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons, Vellore granted the month-long parole for Perarivalan and asked authorities concerned to ensure that he is "provided with strong police escort" during the period of the leave.
The letter said "ordinary leave" is being granted as per rule 19 of the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules 1982. Welcoming the parole, Perarivalan's mother Arputhammal said this was the first time her son was coming out on parole after he was arrested in 1991, few weeks after the assassination of the late Prime Minister. Perarivalan was just 19 years old when he was sent to prison in the high-profile case.
Arputhammal had fought several legal battles seeking pardon for Perarivalan, who was among those sentenced to death. She had also impressed upon the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to pass a resolution in the State assembly that wanted him and others like Murugan to be saved from gallows.
Perarivalan has spent over 26 years in prison and for the past few months, his mother Arputhammal had been running from pillar to post seeking parole for him to meet his father. She had even petitioned the Chief Minister and other ministers in this regard. The parole was granted after the Advocate General made his opinion known in favour of the proposal.