Chennai: The names of LTTE chief V Prabhakaran and his deputy Pottu Amman have been removed from the list of accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case by a designated court here as both were killed in the island republic army's offensive.
"The case against the absconding accused A1 Prabhakaran and A2 Pottu Amman, alias Shanmuganathan Sivasankaran, is hereby dropped and the charges against them ordered abated", TADA court Judge K Dakshinamurthy said recently accepting the CBI's report in this regard.
Prabhakaran, named as prime accused and Pottu Amman as accused number two, had been charged with conspiring in assassinating Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.
The judge's action followed a report by CBI's Multi Department Monitoring Agency (MDMA), formed to probe the conspiracy angle behind the killing of Rajiv Gandhi.
According to Indian laws, charges against the accused abate after their death and the dropping of the names of the two top leaders of the now decimated organisation is seen as India acknowledging that Prabhakaran is no more alive.
The Court's decision to drop their names comes amidst claims by pro-LTTE groups and parties in Tamil Nadu including the Vaiko-led MDMK that Prabhakaran was alive.
The Sri Lankan forces had displayed the bullet-riddled body of the Tigers chief at Nanthikadal lagoon last year after he had planned to escape with some of his aides but was surrounded by the army.
"The case against the absconding accused A1 Prabhakaran and A2 Pottu Amman, alias Shanmuganathan Sivasankaran, is hereby dropped and the charges against them ordered abated", TADA court Judge K Dakshinamurthy said recently accepting the CBI's report in this regard.
Prabhakaran, named as prime accused and Pottu Amman as accused number two, had been charged with conspiring in assassinating Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.
According to Indian laws, charges against the accused abate after their death and the dropping of the names of the two top leaders of the now decimated organisation is seen as India acknowledging that Prabhakaran is no more alive.
Advertisement
The Sri Lankan forces had displayed the bullet-riddled body of the Tigers chief at Nanthikadal lagoon last year after he had planned to escape with some of his aides but was surrounded by the army.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Impostors Raising Funds By Claiming LTTE Chief Is Alive, Says His Family "Joke": Sri Lanka Dismisses Tamil Leader's Claim That LTTE Chief Is Alive "Will Meet Him": Tamil Nadu Congress Chief Mocks LTTE Head Is Alive Claim Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms UP Banker Dies By Suicide After 6 Months Of Bullying, Body-Shaming Indian Among 6 People Killed In Oman Mosque Shooting Coast Guard Rescues 11 From Boat In Critical Condition Off Kerala Coast How Gujarat Government Officers, Contractors Siphoned Off Rs 5.48 Crore Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.