Explained: Roles the now-free six convicts played in Rajiv Gandhi assassination

As a result, it argued, the court had been prevented from “appreciating the crucial and important evidence in the matter, which if presented, would have assisted this court to arrive at a just and correct judgment in the matter”.

As many experts have pointed out, the role each of the convicts played in the assassination was crucial, something that even the Supreme Court bench hearing the case had noted in its order while handing down the convictions and the sentence three decades ago. Here’s a look.

How it all started

It began with five An-32s of the Indian Air Force taking to the skies over Bengaluru from the Yelahanka base at 3:55 pm on 4 June 1987.

The turboprop twin-engine military transport aircraft headed towards the Coromandel coast where five Mirage 2000s from the 7 Squadron met them. The fighter jets were each armed with two Matra Magic-II air-to-air missiles and 2x30mm DEFA revolver cannon with 125 rounds each and three drop tanks.

The fighters’ mission was to cover the An-32s ferrying 25 tonnes of relief supplies — rice, milk powder, vegetables, and kerosene. The fleet returned after dropping the humanitarian materials seven kilometres from Sri Lanka’s Jaffna and touched down at Bengaluru at 6:13 pm.

Operation Poomalai (garland of flowers) — or Eagle Mission-4 — was a success unlike a previous attempt made two days ago. An Indian flotilla was forced to retreat after the Sri Lankan Navy intercepted it on 2 June, 1987.

A month later, the then-Indian Prime Minister and Sri Lankan President JR Jayewardene signed the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that “envisaged a devolution of power to the Tamil-majority areas” on 29 June. The treaty marked India’s direct involvement in the island nation’s civil war.

As part of the accord, India sent the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to Sri Lanka, which within a short while, antagonised the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The Congress lost power at the Centre in the 1989 election, and VP Singh succeeded Rajiv Gandhi but had to resign before completing a year. Chandra Sekhar, who became the prime minister, pulled IPKF back from Sri Lanka, but he too could not complete his term. India once again went to the polls in 1991.

Meanwhile, the LTTE had been watching the political instability in India. It feared that Rajiv Gandhi would return to power and despatch IPKF once again across the Palk Strait separating the two countries. The Eelam hatched a plan in October 1990 to eliminate Rajiv Gandhi, which they executed at 10.10 pm on 21 May 1991.

The characters and their roles 

Thirty-one years and five months after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the Supreme Court of India, on 11 November 2022, ordered the release of the remaining six convicts who had been sentenced to life imprisonment. The order created mixed reactions, with Tamil parties welcoming it even as the Congress cried foul. Another convict, AG Perarivalan, was released in May.

Even as several political parties and pro-Tamil groups in Tamil Nadu celebrated the apex court order, they were gently reminded that the court had not acquitted the six accused, Nalini Sriharan, Murugan, Santhan, Ravichandran, Robert Payas and Jayakumar.

After her release from prison, Nalini claimed that she had no role in the assassination in interviews with television news channels. The claim added fuel to the anger against the verdict that freed the six.

South First took a look at the roles each one of them had played in the assassination of the former president at Sriperumbadur, some 40 km southwest of Chennai.

The role played by Accused No 1 Nalini Sriharan was reported in detail in this report. 

Nalini and Murugan (Wikimedia Commons).

Accused No 2: T Suthendraraja alias Santhan

Santhan is a Sri Lankan national, who knew Sivarasan since they both hailed from Uduppiddy, a small town around 30 km from Jaffna. According to the CBI, he was aware of the LTTE setup and its issues with the IPKF.

In February 1988, Sivarasan asked Santhan if he wished to continue his education in Madras and assured him that the LTTE would arrange for it if he wished so. Santhan accepted the offer, and they reached India on 15 February 1990. Later, he got admission to the Madras Institute of Engineering Technology. Sivarasan paid for his tuition fees and expenses.

In his confession, Santhan told investigators the role Sivarasan and other LTTE members had played in the murder of K Pathmanabha, a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and founder of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF). He, along with several of his party men, was shot dead during a meeting in a Chennai flat on 19 June 1990. The incident was LTTE’s first strike outside Sri Lanka.

Though Santhan was not with the strike party, he was assigned to watch the meeting venue, and pass information to Sivarasan. After the incident, he escaped along with Sivarasan and others to Sri Lanka, where Pottu Amman, LTTE’s intelligence chief, welcomed and praised them for carrying out the attack. After this incident, Santhan dropped out of college.

The Supreme Court convicted him in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case since he had assisted Sivarasan and others in carrying out the conspiracy. He had also distributed money to LTTE operatives at Sivarasan’s behest. Some amount was given even after the blast.

Picture of Rajiv Gandhi Memorial at Sriperumbudur. (Wikimedia Commons)

Even on the day of the assassination, Santhan saw Sivarasan dressed in a white kurta-pyjama. After keeping a white cloth bag with a Czechoslovakia-made pistol in his pyjama’s pocket, Sivarasan asked Santhan whether it was protruding. Santhan replied in the negative.

While convicting him, the apex court said: “The role of Santhan is that of dodging the police and harbouring the fellow co-accused. Santhan before, during and after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi consciously and willingly associated with Sivarasan in achieving the object of the conspiracy.”

Accused No 3: Murugan

Murugan, a Sri Lankan national, was a hardcore LTTE activist, the CBI said. He provided arms training to new recruits, besides conducting political classes.

“Murugan spent two months in Yalpanam (Jaffna) Fort and was also guarding the prison there. He subjected prisoners to torture in order to elicit information. Over 30 persons had died due to the torture inflicted on them by various methods,” the CBI said.

The man joined the LTTE’s suicide squad in January 1991. Pottu Amman had assigned him the task of procuring the sketches of the Chennai Fort, the Police Headquarters and some police stations. He was also asked to photograph and video record those places. He was informed that Sivarasan would receive him in India.

In the first week of February, arrangements were made for Murugan’s stay at the residence of Nalini’s mother, Padma. He later met Nalini and they frequently interacted. He succeeded in making Nalini an LTTE sympathiser.

In the last week of March, Sivarasan asked Murugan if could help in arranging an Indian woman to garland Rajiv Gandhi at a public meeting. When Rajiv Gandhi’s name was mentioned, Murugan understood the target. He agreed and considered Nalini for the role.

Murugan and Nalini after their arrest (Wikimedia Commons).

But in early May, Sivarasan told Murugan that he had brought Subha and Dhanu from Sri Lanka for the job, but he required an Indian girl to provide cover for both of them as they could speak Sri Lankan Tamil. It would raise suspicion, and Nalini took up the task.

Murugan and Nalini attended the dry runs ahead of the actual strike. They attended a meeting addressed by Rajiv Gandhi and J Jayalalithaa on Marina Beach, besides the one by VP Singh. Murugan used a fake press accreditation card to gain access to the venues and the VIP.

Hours before the actual strike on May 21, Sivarasan revealed the target. A few days after the attack, Murugan and Nalini fled Madras and visited Tirupati, Madurai and Karnataka. They were arrested on 14 June.

About his role in the plot, the Supreme Court said: “Conduct of Murugan before and after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi leaves no doubt in our minds that he had agreed to achieve the object of conspiracy which was to murder Rajiv Gandhi.”

Accused 9 and 10: Robert Payas and Jayakumar

Both Robert Payas and Jayakumar are Sri Lankan nationals and are related. Robert’s wife is Jayakumar’s sister. Jayakumar is married to an Indian Tamil woman, Shanti. They, along with 30 to 35 other Tamils, came to India in September 1990 and registered themselves at a refugee camp.

Confessing, Robert said that he had been helping the LTTE since 1985, fighting against the Sri Lankan army and the IPKF. Payas had lost his one-and-a-half-year-old son in an IPKF operation.

The prosecution case was that Robert was aware of the conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi. He was Sivarasan’s close associate. Pottu Amman chose the trio since Shanti is an Indian Tamil. He was directed to find accommodation for Sivarasan and others.

The CBI alleged that Robert burst crackers on 22 May to celebrate the assassination. His association with Sivarasan continued even after the blast.

Additionally, they had set up a wireless communication system in one of the houses Jayakumar had taken on rent. The system was used to communicate with the LTTE leaders in Jaffna.

“It is difficult to conclude that Robert Payas was a member of the conspiracy. His association with Sivarasan or even his knowledge about the conspiracy cannot make him a conspirator. It is the agreement which is the sine qua non of the offence of conspiracy.”

Jayakumar was a frequent visitor to Tamil Nadu. He had taken two houses in Chennai which were used to accommodate LTTE members, including Sivarasan, Dhanu and Subha.

This photograph of Dhanu and Sivarasan was taken moments before the blast. The woman and her daughter, seen flanking Dhanu, did not survive the blast. (Wikimedia Commons)

The CBI said both Jayakumar and Shanti were co-conspirators. Sivarasan was meeting the expenses of Jayakumar since the husband-wife duo did not have any source of income. The couple was aware of Sivarasan’s “dangerous mission.”

Despite knowing why Subha and Dhanu were brought to India, the couple continued their association with Sivarasan.

The CBI also said that Sivarasan changed into a white kurta-pyjama on the day of the blast at the couple’s home, and Shanthi had stitched a cloth pouch for him to conceal his pistol.

Moreover, the CBI charged that Jayakumar and Shanthi continued to associate with Sivarasan even after the assassination and harboured him, Subha and Nalini in their house.

The agency added that after the suicide attack, Jayakumar helped Sivarasan in digging a pit near the kitchen in the house to conceal arms, ammunition and other evidence.

While convicting him for other charges, the court noted: “There is nothing on record to show that Jayakumar and Shanthi knew of the ‘dangerous mission’ or for whose assassination Subha and Dhanu were brought by Sivarasan. …They did not know what Sivarasan was up to. These accused may have a strong feelings against Rajiv Gandhi and they may have a strong suspicion that Sivarasan, Subha and Dhanu had come for some dangerous mission, but there is no evidence to infer that that would make them members of the conspiracy.”

The court further stated: “It is correct that Jayakumar harboured Sivarasan, Nalini and Subha after having come to know their involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi but from that again it cannot be inferred that he was a member of the conspiracy.”

Accused No 16: Ravichandran

Though an Indian Tamil, Ravichandran became a staunch LTTE activist after hearing about the alleged IPKF brutality. He frequented Sri Lanka to meet LTTE leaders. The CBI said Pottu Amman indoctrinated Ravi. He was told to return to India, and prepare the ground for an armed revolution in Tamil Nadu.

Ravichandran was introduced to Sivarasan by Pottu Amman. Asking him to keep in constant touch with Sivarasan, Pottu Amman hinted at an important event in Tamil Nadu. Ravichandran was told that he would have a major role in the event.

While waiting for a boat to India, Ravi had asked Sivarasan if their target was Rajiv Gandhi. The latter did not give a clear, direct answer, but still managed to confirm Ravi’s suspicion.

Remains of the clothes worn by former PM Rajiv Gandhi on 21 May 1991 (Wikimedia Commons)

The CBI later found that Sivarasan had financially helped Ravichandran. The accused harboured Subha and Sivarasan after the assassination, despite knowing their involvement.

It was also alleged that Ravichandran tried to help Sivarasan and Subha flee India. Additionally, he visited Sri Lanka in September 1991 and returned with arms and ammunition from Pottu Amman.

“From all these factors, the prosecution seeks to infer that Ravi had knowledge of the object of the conspiracy, had agreed to the same and was thus a member of the conspiracy. At one point in time Ravi, in his confession, did say that he had a strong suspicion that the target was Rajiv Gandhi but that would certainly not make him a member of the conspiracy,” the Supreme Court stated in its order even as it found him guilty on other charges.