Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict Perarivalan's mother seeks son's mercy killing, asks govt to 'end his suffering'

“You (Tamil Nadu government) couldn’t use your powers to release him, at least kill him to end his suffering” — this is what Arputhammal, mother of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict AG Perarivalan, said, while seeking mercy killing for her son, according to The Hindu. Perarivalan has been in prison for over 27 years. Arputhammal’s desperate plea came shortly after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected a petition by the Tamil Nadu government to release seven convicts, including Perarivalan, on humanitarian grounds. [caption id=“attachment_4523021” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Arputhammal, mother of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict AG Perarivalan. News18 Tamil[/caption] The 71-year-old was quoted as saying in DNA that her son is suffering from several ailments, and that she doesn’t “want him to live in agony any more.” Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated at an election rally on 21 May, 1991 at Sriperumbudur near Chennai by a woman suicide bomber. The apex court had on 23 January, 2018 asked the Centre to take a decision within three months on a 2016 letter by the Tamil Nadu government seeking its concurrence for releasing the convicts. The Centre had asserted that the killers of the former prime minister did not deserve any mercy as the assassination was the result of a conspiracy involving foreign nationals. The Tamil Nadu government is for the release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts but the matter is pending before the Supreme Court, law minister CV Shanmugam told the state Assembly earlier this month. The minister said the state government’s decision to release the seven life-term convicts in the case was based on the policy of late chief minister ‘Amma’ (J Jayalalithaa). PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss has condemned the central government for not releasing the convicts, saying that the decision is anti-Tamil. DMK leader MK Stalin termed the central government’s decision as inhuman. The seven convicts serving life sentence are: V Sriharan alias Murugan, AG Perarivalan alias Arivu, T Suthendraraja alias Santhan, Nalini, Robert Pius, Jayakumar and Ravichandran. With inputs from agencies