Muguran, Robert, and Jayakumar, three convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination case, were deported to Sri Lanka on Wednesday (3rd April) from Chennai airport. All three Sri Lankans were residing in the Trichy refugee camp. Previously, the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission awarded temporary travel credentials to the three convicts in the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
According to reports, they were deported to Sri Lanka following deportation orders issued by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts- Muguran, Robert and Jayakumar deported to Sri Lanka from Chennai airport this morning.
— ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2024
Murugan, Jayakumar and Robert were staying in the Trichy refugee camp. pic.twitter.com/EZxpFpi1lT
The Supreme Court had ordered to release them on 11th November 2022, accepting their petitions. Three more Indians, Perarivalan, Nalini, and Ravichandran, were also released following previous Supreme Court orders. They were originally awarded life sentences but the Supreme Court accepted their pleas for premature release from jail, saying that their behaviours were satisfactory in jail.
Accordingly, all surviving convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case were released from various jails on 12 November 2022. However, the four freed Sri Lankan convicts were sent to a special camp on the Tiruchi Prison grounds, because they didn’t have valid documents to stay in India.
Following Santhan’s death on 28th February, Murugan petitioned the Court for travel permits from the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai. According to court rules, the trio was brought to the Deputy Commission on 13th March. Sri Lanka recently granted them temporary travel credentials, facilitating their journey to the island nation.
Notably, Murugan is the husband of Nalini, the Indian national who is also a convict in the case. Nalini accompanied Murugan to the airport to see him off.
Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber of the banned LTTE in 1991 at nearby Sriperumbudur. Originally the convicts were awarded death sentences, but the same were commuted to life sentences, a move supported by Sonia Gandhi.
