The six Indian and Sri Lankan nationals convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi are likely to be released from jail today. The jail authorities have reportedly received copies of the Supreme Court order that secured their premature release and set in motion formalities required to end their three-decades-long incarceration. Nalini Sriharan, who has been released from jail, may stay in Chennai or might join her daughter who lives in London, her lawyer P Pugazhendi told PTI. "She will take a call on this," he added.
Nalini's husband V Sriharan alias Murugan -- a co-convict -- is a Sri Lankan national. The lawyer said that the Tamil Nadu government will decide his fate.
Santhan, Robert Payas, and Jayakumar are Sri Lankans while Nalini and R P Ravichandran, belong to Tamil Nadu.
Santhan has expressed his will to return to Sri Lanka.
Earlier today, Nalini, who was on parole, reached the Katpadi police station. She was later taken to the Vellore prison to complete the formalities regarding her release.
Also read: Who is Nalini Sriharan? What role did she play in assassinating Rajiv Gandhi?
The Supreme Court on Friday set the six convicts free, observing that its order releasing co-convict AG Perarivalan earlier this year extended to other convicts as well.
Gandhi was killed by LTTE operatives in Sriperumbudur in 1991 during the general election campaign by a suicide bomber named Dhanu. Sri Lanka's Tamil militia feared Gandhi might send back the peace-keeping force should he return to power.
Nalini was the only survivor of the five-strong squad tasked to kill Gandhi. She was seen in a photo with Dhanu before the explosion.
She was sentenced to death but it was later converted to life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a statement that the Supreme Court's decision was "totally unacceptable and completely erroneous". The party also commented on Sonia Gandhi's personal pardon for Nalini, saying that was her personal view, not the Congress party's.
