Convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case return to Sri Lanka
Nearly two years after being released by the Supreme Court in the Rajiv Gandhi murder case, three former prisoners made their way back to Sri Lanka on Wednesday.
V Murugan, B Robert Payas, and S Jayakumar arrived at the Colombo International Airport on Wednesday morning (local time) after taking a flight from Chennai, according to agency reports citing police sources. According to sources, the Colombo police criminal investigation department recorded the suspects’ testimony for almost five hours at their office.
The three, who had been imprisoned for almost 30 years for their part in the former prime minister’s murder, departed Chennai for Colombo at 10 a.m. on Wednesday on a Sri Lankan plane.
“Couple desired to travel to the UK to join daughter”
The three will be the subject of an inquiry in Sri Lanka since they unlawfully left the country, an official from the Sri Lankan High Commission who issued their travel passports informed TNIE.
Murugan had previously petitioned the Madras High Court, requesting an order from the authorities to provide him a picture ID card so he could apply for a passport to Sri Lanka. Nalini, Murugan’s wife, had also filed a motion with the court, requesting permission for her husband to attend with an escort before the Sri Lankan High Commission in Chennai in order to get a “all country passport.”
The couple wanted to move in with their now-UK-residing daughter. Nalini saw Murugan at the airport on Wednesday before they left for their return home.
The three were among the seven people found guilty of taking part in the May 21, 1991, suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur that killed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The LTTE was outlawed at the time. Their death sentence was eventually converted to life in prison. In November 2022, the Supreme Court declared them free. They were housed in a separate camp in Tiruchy upon their release. Santhan, another Lankan citizen found guilty in the case, had passed away not too long ago.
