"Nalini's Priority Is...": Rajiv Gandhi Convict's Brother On Her Release

Nalini Sriharan and five other convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case will be freed after 33 years in prison, following a Supreme Court order today.

Nalini's brother Bakianathan told NDTV she is "very happy" and was grateful to the Supreme Court and the citizens of India.

On some critics and the Congress opposing the convicts' release, Bakianathan said: "I would like to request them to respect the laws of India. According to the law they were released on humanitarian grounds. Already, they have suffered 33 years of imprisonment."

Nalini was sentenced to death for her role in the 1991 assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by a suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during an election rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. The sentence was reduced to life term on the intervention of Rajiv Gandhi's wife Sonia Gandhi. Years later, the Supreme Court commuted the sentence of six more convicts in the case.

In 2019, Nalini was granted parole for a month for the wedding of her daughter Harithra, who studies medicine in the UK.

"We want to live as a family. Nalini's priority now is to reunite with her family," said Bakianathan.

The Congress opposed the convicts' release, calling it unacceptable and completely erroneous.

"The decision of the Supreme Court to free the remaining killers of former PM Rajiv Gandhi is totally unacceptable and completely erroneous. The Congress Party criticises it clearly and finds it wholly untenable. It is most unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue," senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.

Bakianathan, in an emotional message to Rajiv Gandhi's family, said: "Our message is, we are victims of circumstances in this case. We personally apologise to those who lost their lives. We have learnt a lot of lessons."