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SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD
STORY
Chapter 47: Questions over Gandhi's
killing
By K T Rajasingham
When Rajiv Gandhi was murdered on May 21, 1991,
he was 46 years old. He was born on August 20, l944 and
brought up in the Nehru Gandhi family of freedom
fighters, great leaders and statesmen. Indira Gandhi,
the daughter of the first Indian Prime Minister, Pundit
Jawaharlal Nehru, was married to Feroze Gandhi. Two
years after the birth of Rajiv Gandhi, his father Feroze
and mother Indira moved to Lucknow from Allahabad.
Feroze assumed charge as managing director of the
National Herald. Indira moved to Delhi in 1950, when
Rajiv was six. Feroze, however, remained in Lucknow to
1ook after the National Herald. Rajiv was then enrolled
in Welhams School in Dehra Dun. Thereafter, in 1955, he
joined the prestigious Doon Schoo1. When he was 16 years
old his father passed away.
In 1962, Rajiv left
for Cambridge University in England and joined Trinity
College. Thereafter, he studied at the Imperial College
of Science and Technology, London. There he met Sonia
Maino of Italy, and a nuptial knot was tied between the
two in 1978.
From childhood, Rajiv Gandhi had an
immense interest in technology and he had a passion for
machines, and he developed a keen interest in aviation.
He learned to fly during his holidays in England and in
India. When he returned from England, he joined the
Indian Airlines' training course at Hyderabad, in
December, 1967. Rajiv joined Indian Airlines officially,
as an apprentice, on May 5, 1968, and captained RS-748
aircrafts. Finally, he obtained a Boeing Commander's
License, in 1980. He loved flying and was led a happy
family life, as a commercial pilot.
Rajiv's
brother Sanjay, younger by two years, was already thick
in politics and was a great help to Indira Gandhi, who
was then Prime Minister. The family received a big shock
with the sudden death of Sanjay in June 1980, in an air
crash near Safdarjang airport, Delhi. Rajiv had no
interest in politics, but the untimely death of Sanjay,
pulled him into politics much against his wishes. There
was considerable pressure exerted on him to join active
politics. Rajiv Gandhi himself explained how
circumstances forced him into politics:
"... I
had no love for politics. I treasured the privacy of my
happy family life. My mother respected both these
sentiments. Then my brother Sanjay was killed in the
prime of his life. It broke a mother's heart. It did not
break a Prime Minister's will. Without even a day's
break of grief, she carried on her task single-minded in
fulfilling her pledge to her people.
"There is a
loneliness, that only a bereaved mother can know. She
called to me in her loneliness. I went to her side. At
her instance, I left my love for flying and joined her
as a political aide. From her, I learnt my first
political lessons. It was she who urged me to respond to
the insistent demand from the constituency and the party
to take my brother's place as Member of Parliament for
Amethi. With her blessings, I was made General Secretary
of my party asking me to accept the challenge of
stepping into her shoes. In accepting the challenge, I
fulfilled a national duty and a filial duty: 'the duty
of a son to a mother'."
Once he plunged into
politics, he made a mark for himself. He contested the
Lok Sabha election, in the Amethi constituency, in June
1981 and won by a thumping majority. He was sworn in as
a MP, on August 17, 1981. He made his maiden speech, on
March 11, 1982 and was appointed the General Secretary
of the All India Congress Committee, on February 3,
1983. Four states were put under his charge - Arunachal
Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland. He was
also given charge of managing the affairs of the
Congress Sewa Dal and the Youth Congress. He played a
pivotal role in starting the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi.
Indira Gandhi fell by the bullets of her own
security guards when she was on her way to give an
interview on the morning of October 31, l984. The
assassination sent shock waves all over the country. On
that fateful day, Rajiv was far away from her in the
interior of West Bengal, addressing political meetings.
Tragedy overtook him, but he dashed to Delhi and the
nation's responsibility fell on his shoulders and he was
sworn in as Prime Minister the same evening.
Soon after becoming premier, elections for the
Lok Sabha were announced for December 1984. He won a
landslide victory for the Congress Party, winning 401
seats out of 508 seats. In his capacity as Prime
Minister, he signed the Punjab, Assam and Mizo accords
and for the settlement of the Tamil ethnic crisis the
Indo-Sri Lanka accord in July 1987.
During his
tenure as Prime Minister, several reforms were brought
about in administration, economy and technology in
India. He also brought about judicial and electoral
reforms by amendments to the constitution. The Panchayat
Raj was introduced and the voting age was reduced from
21 to 18 years.
In the field of education, a new
education policy was framed and the Indira Gandhi
National Open University was established. His
achievements in the international field were
significant. He was a firm believer of total disarmament
and presented an action plan before a special session on
disarmament at the United Nations General Assembly in
l988. He wanted to promote good neighborly relations and
emergency help was sent to the Maldives government in
1988 to relieve it from the clutches of Sri Lankan Tamil
militant mercenaries. He also directed his efforts to
promote sustained and continued cooperation among the
Members of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
In Indo-China
relations, a new phase was heralded by him, with his
visit to China in 1988. He was a champion of human
rights and was opposed to oppression and exploitation in
India. According to him, apartheid was a blot on
civilization. He wanted to see India as a great power by
the beginning of the 21st century. lt may be that, he
was not cut out for politics. Nevertheless, with his
charismatic personality he won the hearts of his
countrymen. His smiling face and his behavior and
manners were appealing and could turn his foes into
friends.
Though he lost power in December l989,
when V P Singh became Prime Minister, he was on the
crest of his popularity and seen to be destined to be
Prime Minister after the June, 1991 general elections.
He was so projected in the media. But in a split of a
second, his life was snuffed out by the explosion of a
human bomb, as he was about to address a public meeting
at Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu), on the night of May 21,
1991, during an electioneering campaign. He was survived
by his widow Sonia, daughter Priyanka and son Rahul.
From Sriperumbudur, Rajiv Gandhi's coffin was
taken in a special plane to New Delhi for cremation,
which was done with state honors on May 24, at a
specially constructed crematorium, called Veer Bhumi, in
the Rajghat area of New Delhi.
Nearly 50 head of
states, including D B Wijetunga, the Prime Minister of
Sri Lanka, representing the President and the Government
of Sri Lanka, participated in the funeral ceremony.
After Gandhi's death, D R Karthikeyan was
appointed as the head of a Special Investigative Team
(SIT), to track down the killers. He told 'Frontline,'
in May 1992, "In the first seven days after the
assassination the world media speculated whether the
crime would remain a mystery forever. But, within 10
days we found some slender clues. Within 20 days we made
the first arrests - of Bhagyanathan and Padma. We
unearthed substantial evidence in 60 days, we made
number of arrests. Within 90 days, we tracked down the
main conspirators in Bangalore. The charge-sheet was
filed soon after."
This was a well crafted
statement, made by the crime-buster, who managed to
weave a web around the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) and managed to prove them guilty of the murder of
Rajiv Gandhi.
As far as this writer is
concerned, he unequivocally condemns the killing of the
Rajiv Gandhi, but he is unmindful of the fact of whether
the Tigers plotted to kill Rajiv Gandhi or not. His sole
intention is to unravel the mystery behind the murder,
which had purposely been left unsolved. The charge-sheet
framed regarding the conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi,
had 41 persons, as the accused. Of these, three were
Velupillai Prabakaran, the leader of the LTTE, Pottu
Amman, the intelligence chief of the LTTE and Akhila,
the deputy chief of the LTTE's women's intelligence
wing.
In November 1, 1995, Akhila died. She had
joined the LTTE in 1987 and had become the most daring
female Tiger, who ever fought as an equal alongside the
men.
Twelve accused by the time of the framing
of the charge-sheet were dead and the remaining 26 were
brought to trial before the Designated court, under the
TADA Act. (Terrorists and Disruptive Activities
Prevention Act), at Poonamallee, about 30 km from
Madras.
The pre-trail proceedings began before
the judge, on May 5, 1993. The court framed charges
against the 26 accused, on November 24. These
proceedings were only allowed to be covered by two news
agencies - the Press Trust of India and the United News
of India.
The 26 accused were:
Accused 1: S
Nalini (the only one who was present at the scene of the
crime); Indian; arrested on June 14, 1991; confessional
statement recorded on Aug 9, 1991.
Accused 2: T
Suthendraraja alias Santhan; Sri Lankan; arrested on
July 22, 1991; confessional statement recorded on Sept
17, 1991.
Accused 3: Sriharan alias Murugan alias
Thas alias Indu Master; Sri Lankan; arrested on June 14,
1991; confessional statement recorded on Aug 8,
1991.
Accused 4: Shankar alias Koneswaran; Sri
Lankan; arrested on May 19, 1992; no
confession.
Accused 5: D Vijayanandan alias Hari
Aiyah; Sri Lankan; arrested on May 16, 1992; no
confession.
Accused 6: Sivaruban alias Suresh alias
Suresh Kumar alias Ruban; Sri Lankan; arrested on May
16, 1992; no confession.
Accused 7: S Kanagasabapathy
alias Radhaiyah; Sri Lankan; arrested on July 4, 1991;
no confession.
Accused 8: A Chandralekha alias
Athirai alias Sonia alias Gowri; Sri Lankan; arrested on
July 5, 1991; confessional statement recorded on Aug 29,
1991.
Accused 9: B Robert Payas alias Kumaralingam;
Sri Lankan; arrested on June 18, 1991; confessional
statement recorded on Aug 15, 1991.
Accused 10: S
Jayakumar alias Jayakumaran alias Jayam; Sri Lankan;
June 26, 1991; confessional statement recorded on Aug
22, 1991.
Accused 11: J Shanthi; Indian; arrested on
May 16, 1992; no confession.
Accused 12: S Vijayan
alias Perumal Vijayan; Sri Lankan; arrested on July 8
1991; confessional statement recorded on Sept 4,
1991.
Accused 13: V Selvaluxmi; Indian; arrested on
May 16, 1992; no confession.
Accused 14: S Bhaskaran
alias Velayutham; Indian; arrested on July 8 1991; no
confession.
Accused 15: S Shanmugavadivelu alias
Thambi Anna; Sri Lankan; arrested on May 16, 1992;
confessional statement recorded on May 17,
1992.
Accused 16: P Ravichandran alias Ravi alias
Pragasam; Indian; arrested on Jan 6, 1992; confessional
statement recorded on Feb 14, 1992.
Accused 17: M
Suseendran alias Mahesh; Indian; arrested on Jan.6,
1992; confessional statement recorded on Feb14,
1992.
Accused 18: G Perarivalan alias Arivu; Indian;
arrested on June 19, 1991; confessional statement
recorded on Aug 15, 1991.
Accused 19: S Irumborai
alias Duraisingam; Indian; arrested on Oct 9, 1991;
confessional statement recorded on Dec 3,
1991.
Accused 20: S Bhagyanathan; Indian; arrested on
June 11, 1991; confessional statement recorded on Aug 5,
1991.
Accused 21: S Padma; Indian; arrested on June
11, 1991; confessional statement recorded on Aug 7,
1991.
Accused 22: A Sundaram alias Subha Sundaram;
Indian; arrested on July 2, 1991; no
confession.
Accused 23: K Dhanasekaran alias Raju;
Indian; arrested on Oct 13 1991; confessional statement
recorded on Nov 4, 1991.
Accused 24: N Rajasuriya
alias Rangan; Sri Lankan; arrested on Aug 28, 1991;
confessional statement recorded on Oct 23,
1991.
Accused 25: T Vigneswaran alias Vicky; Sri
Lankan; arrested on Feb.4, 1992; confessional statement
recorded on Feb 24, 1992.
Accused 26: J Ranganath;
Indian; arrested on Aug 28, 1991; no confession.
The trial started on January 19, 1994 and was
held in camera. Out of the 1,044 witnesses cited, 288
were examined. The prosecution produced 1,477 documents,
which ran to about 10,000 pages. It also produced 1,180
objects of evidences. The defense produced 74 documents.
The arguments concluded on November 5, 1997. On January
28, 1988, the judge - V Navaneetham (who had replaced
Judge S M Siddick), convicted and sentenced all 26
accused to death. It was held that, all of them
conspired to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi, with the help of
LTTE. The death sentence was subject to confirmation by
the Supreme Court of India.
"In this case, Rajiv
Gandhi, former Prime Minister, was assassinated in
pursuance of a diabolical plot, carefully conceived and
executed by a highly organized foreign terrorist
organization, the LTTE. Sixteen innocent lives were lost
and many sustained grievous/simple injuries." The names
of others who died during the explosion were as follows:
P K Gupta (personal security officer to Rajiv Gandhi),
Latha Kannan, Kokilavani, Iqbal (superintendent of
police), Rajakuru (inspector of police), Edward Joseph
(inspector of police), Ethiraj (sub-inspector of
police), Sundaraju Pillai (police constable), Ravi
(commando police constable), Dharman (police constable),
Chandra (woman police constable), Santhani Begum, Darryl
Peter, Kumari Saroja Devi and Munuswamy.
"Considering the above circumstances, I hold
this rarest of rare case and I award the death sentence
for the accused," Judge M Navaneetham said, "adding that
from the evidence, oral and documentary, it was
established by the prosecution that the conspiracy was
hatched by Prabakaran, the LTTE leader."
Besides
the charges of conspiracy, the judge also held that the
accused were guilty of offenses under the provisions of
the TADA Act, the Explosive Substances Act, the Arms
Act, the Passport Act, the Foreigners Act and the
Wireless and Telegraphy Act and also offenses committed
under various other sections of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC).
The charge sheet filed by the Special
Investigation Team of the CBI, on May 22, 1992, sought
to piece together the sequence of events from July 1987,
leading to the assassination. It listed 41 persons as
accused. Twelve of them were dead, of whom 10 were Sri
Lankans and three were declared proclaimed absconders.
None of the 26 accused in custody received bail and they
were lodged in the high security Poonamallee prison.
Sivarasan alias Bhackiachandran, Dhanu, Subha,
Haribabu, Nehru alias Gokhul, Shanmugam, Gundu Santhan,
Suresh Master, Dixon alias Kishore, Amman alias
Gaigaikumar, Anna alias Kirthi and Kamuna alias Jamila
were all dead.
LTTE supreme Prabakaran, Pottu
Amman and Akhila were declared proclaimed absconders.
The judgment ran into nearly 2,000 pages and the
judge read out only the operative portions, which itself
took almost the entire day. The trial started on January
19, 1994 and concluded on November 5, 1997. The judge
held that the charge of conspiracy had been proved
against all the accused.
In respect of Nalini -
accused No 1 and Perarivalan - accused No 18, the judge
held that the charges against them under IPC section 302
had also been proved. The judged held that Nalini shared
the common intention to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi and
convicted her under 16 counts.
He also found her
guilty under section 3(2) of the TADA Act as the
assassination was a terrorist act committed on Indian
soil. She was also found guilty under section 326 of the
IPC causing grievous injuries to 13 persons and under
Section 324 for causing simple injuries to six persons.
Nalini, who married another accused, Murugan, while they
were in custody, was found guilty of harboring,
conspiring, abetment and preparatory to the
commissioning of a terrorist act and that she had also
indulged in a disruptive act under section 4 (3) of the
TADA Act.
Santhan - accused No 2, was found
guilty under Section 3 (3) of the TADA Act and Section
14 of the Foreigners Act.
Murugan - accused No
3, was found guilty under Section 3 (3) of the TADA Act,
Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and Section 6 (1) A of
the Wireless and Telegraphy Act.
Sankar alias
Koneswaran - accused No 4; T Vijayanandan - accused No
5; Ruban alias Sureshkumar - accused No 6 were found
guilty under Section 3 (3) of the TADA Act and Section
14 of the Foreigners Act.
Kanagasabapathy -
accused No 7, was found guilty under Section 3 (3) and 3
(4) of the TADA Act, IPC section 212 and Section 14 of
the Foreigners Act.
Arthiral alias Chandralekha
- accused No 8, was found guilty under Section 3 (4) of
the TADA Act, IPC Section 212 and Section 14 of the
Foreigners Act.
Perarivalan - Accused No 18, who
was alleged to have prepared the belt bomb, was found
guilty under Section 3(3) of TADA Act, Section 302 of
the IPC read with section 109 of the IP|C (abatement)
Sections 326 and 324 of the IPC. Sections 6(1)A of the
Wireless and Telegraphy Act, Section 12 of the Passport
Act and Section 4(3) read with Section 4(1) of the TADA
Act. The charge against Perarivalan was that, he
purchased two nine volt battery cells to detonate the
bomb.
The others convicted were, Robert Pyass
A-9, Jayakumar A-10, J Shanthi A-11, P Vijayan A-12,
Selvalakshmi A-13, Bhaskaran A-14, Shanmugavadivelu
alias Thambi Anna A-15, Ravichandran alias Ravi alias
Prakasam A-16, Mahesh alias Surendran A-17, Irumborai
A-19, S Bhagynathan A-20, S Padma A-21, Sundram alias
Subha Sundram A-22, K Dhanasekaran, Rangan A-23, Rangan
A-24, Vickey alias Vigneswaran A-25 and J Ranganath
A-26.
The judge Navaneetham culled out evidence,
to show how the hatred sown in the mind of the LTTE
supremo Velupillai Prabakaran, developed into a motive
to kill Rajiv Gandhi. According to the judge, Prabakaran
was disappointed because, the LTTE was not recognized by
Rajiv Gandhi, as the sole representative of the Sri
Lankan Tamils, as he found out during his visit to
Delhi, before the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord,
that the leaders of the other Tamil groups - EPRLF,
ENDLF, TELO, PLOTE, EROS and TULF - also took part in
discussions, at a meeting in Delhi, with Rajiv Gandhi.
The judge noted that, Prabakaran was not
satisfied with the accord, as the LTTE was not a party
to it. In this context, the judge said that, the visit
of prosecution witness No (PW) 250 - V Goplaswamy,
former Rajya Sabah MP, who was at that time, a leading
and senior member of the Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (DMK)
and at present, the General Secretary of Marumalarchi
Dravida Munnetra Kalagam (MDMK) - to Jaffna and the
Vavuniya jungles, clandestinely by a boat, on February
6, 1989 and his meeting with Prabakaran, was relevant
and significant.
The judge said that, PW 250
going to Jaffna and his meeting with Prabakaran and
others were video-taped and during his deposition he
identified the video cassette marked as an exhibit,
containing his trip to Jaffna. According to the
prosecution, PW 250, while addressing the International
Tamil Conference, in London, in 1988, stated that
Prabakaran told him on the phone that "he was betrayed
by the Government of India and by Rajiv Gandhi, also he
was stabbed in the back".
But during cross
examination, PW 250 denied having said that. The judge
said from the evidence, the only conclusion that could
be arrived at was that, he did speak at the conference
and his denial in this regard had been proved to be
false in cross-examination.
The judge was of the
view that, though PW 250 turned hostile, his evidence in
the light of the Supreme Court decision had to be
accepted. He deposed to the court that, the movements of
the undisputed leader of the LTTE were curtailed in
Delhi during his stay there. No one was allowed to meet
him. On July 29, 1987, when the Accord was signed in
Colombo, by Rajiv Gandhi and J R Jayewardene. Prabakaran
was in Delhi. It was at that point that, the seed of
hatred against Rajiv Gandhi was sown in the mind of
Prabakaran.
The judge noted that this hatred
gradually developed into animosity against Rajiv Gandhi,
in view of the events that took place after the IPKF was
inducted in Sri Lanka.
The judge also referred
to the deposition made by Vazhapadi K Ramamurthy (PW
258), former President of the Tamil Nadu Indira Congress
Party, who said that, his party was committed to the
accord of July 1987. The judge said that the Congress
Party's election manifesto showed, Rajiv Gandhi's
commitment to the Accord and his desire to protect the
territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.
If Rajiv
Gandhi were to return to power, the avowed objective of
achieving Tamil Eelam would remain a dream for the LTTE
and Prabakaran. Therefore, the only way such an event
could be prevented was by pre-empting the possibility of
Rajiv Gandhi coming back to power, by eliminating him,
and this was the immediate motive in designing the
conspiracy.
Referring to the arguments of the
defence council, that many other militant groups like
ULFA and J&K militants and Punjab militants were
against Rajiv Gandhi, the judge said that it was true
that Rajiv Gandhi had threats from some militant groups
in India.
There was not an iota of evidence
available in this case to support the contention that
any other foreign elements were involved, as pointed out
by the defence counsel, in this regard. On the other
hand, the facts and circumstances proved in this case,
through witnesses and documents, clearly established
beyond any doubt that, Prabakaran and the LTTE alone had
a very strong motive to kill Rajiv Gandhi.
When
the Judge Navaneetham "broke" the nib of his pen after
signing the judgment, it was a moment in history: never
before in post-Independence India had the death sentence
been handed to so many people in one case. It was also
the longest assassination trial in the country. The in
camera the trial began on January 14, 1994 and concluded
on November 5 1997, while the case itself went on for a
little under six years, beginning with the filing of the
charge sheet by the SIT on May 20, 1992, exactly a year
after Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
In the
"rarest of rare" case, the judge held that, the charge
of conspiracy had been proved against all the accused,
of whom 13 of them Indians. The accused were also held
guilty under the TADA Act, the Explosives Substances
Act, the Passport Act, the Arms Act, the Wireless and
Telegraphy Act and the Foreigners Act, besides several
sections of the Indian Penal Code. "The nation's and the
SIT's single-minded pursuit of truth stood vindicated,"
said an obviously elated Karthikeyan. "The court has
upheld the SIT's findings and it has been proved that
the Indian police are second to none."
The
accused were convicted and sentenced to death, on
January 28, 1998, in a judgment that shocked many
observers. Lawyers for the defense called it a "judicial
massacre". Appeals against the convictions and sentences
were submitted to the Supreme Court, in February 1998.
On May 11, the Supreme Court in its verdict
announced that four would pay with their lives for the
assassination, while 19 of the 26 sentenced to death by
the trial court had been acquitted. For the remaining
three, the apex court commuted their death sentence to
life imprisonment. In a 2-1 majority verdict, the court
upheld the conviction of four accused - Nalini, her
husband Murugan, Santhan and Arivu - confirming their
death sentence.
Death sentences to Robert Payas
(Accused 9), Jayakumar (Accused 10) and Ravichandran
(Accused 16), delivered at the Designated Trial Court,
was altered to life imprisonment. The other 19
appellants were freed.
The bench comprised
Justice K T Thomas, Justice D P Wadhwa and Justice S S M
Quadri, each pronouncing a separate verdict and the last
two constituting the majority view. While Justice Thomas
and Justice Quadri agreed on the death sentence to three
of the above, there were sharp differences among them on
the sentence to be awarded to Nalini. Justice Thomas
said Nalini was an educated woman and "was an obedient
participant in the conspiracy, but played no dominant
role. She was brainwashed by Murugan and others to
believe the horrific stories about IPKF excesses in Sri
Lanka," the judge said, and that she had confided in her
brother that, she never realized the seriousness of the
conspiracy, till it was too late for her to withdraw.
However, Justice Quadri said, "if the death
sentence was not awarded to Nalini, who was a willing
participant in the conspiracy to kill, then justice
would be stunted." Justice Wadhwa said "she was mentally
prepared by Dhanu, Sivarasan, Murugan and Subha and she
voluntarily participated in the dry run at V P Singh's
function, held a few days earlier."
And both
Justice Wadhwa and Justice Quadri concurred on awarding
the death sentence to her, although Justice Thomas
observed that, "as Murugan, the father of their child,
[he married Nalini in prison], was awarded the death
sentence, the mother [Nalini] should be saved not to
make the child an orphan."
Justice Thomas put
all the accused into four categories: those who formed
the hardcore; those who induced others into the
conspiracy and played an active role, those who joined
the conspiracy, and those who played a passive role. The
judge said all the accused belonging to the first
category, including V Prabhakaran, were never brought to
trial, because they were either dead or absconding. "The
seven accused whose conviction is upheld belong to the
second category," the judge ruled. While upholding the
conviction of only the seven accused, on the charge of
conspiracy to murder Rajiv Gandhi under Sections 302 and
120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code, the judges set aside
their conviction under various provisions of the TADA.
The judges acquitted 18 out of the remaining 19
accused on the charge of conspiracy to murder Rajiv
Gandhi. Their conviction for minor offences was upheld,
but they were ordered to be released forthwith, as they
had already served the necessary period of imprisonment.
One accused, S Shanmugavadivelu, was acquitted of all
charges.
Though 41 people, including
Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and Akhila were arraigned, as
accused in the charge sheet filed by the SIT, only 26
were tried. Of the 41 accused, 12 others including the
alleged assassins were killed later. Belt-bomb assassin
Dhanu blew herself up killing Rajiv Gandhi, while her
accomplice Subha and one-eyed Jack Sivarasan committed
suicide.
Senior advocate N Natarajan, who
appeared for Nalini, Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan,
said the four accused would seek presidential mercy; and
they would also move the Supreme Court to stay the death
sentence until the President acted on their mercy
petitions, he added. The four prisoners were lodged in
Central Prison, Vellore. Nalini was in the women's
prison.
On August 1997: The Jain Commission
submitted its Interim Report, consisting of 17 volumes,
to the then Home Minister Indrajit Gupta. The interim
report was 5,280 pages long, comprising eight volumes of
interim findings and nine volumes of annexes. The report
carried the testimonies of 110 witnesses. On 7 March
1998: The Jain Commission submitted its Final Report,
consisting of 2,000 pages. The Jain Commission was
appointed on August 23, 1991 to probe conspiracies
behind the murder of Rajiv Gandhi. A woman suicide
bomber assassinated Rajiv Gandhi during election
campaign in Tamil Nadu in May 1991. LTTE leader V
Prabhakaran and Tiger intelligence chief Pottu Amman are
the two main accused in the court case relating to the
killing.
The 17-volume with 5,280 page Jain
Commission interim report says that, the Rajiv
assassination would not have been possible, without the
deep nexus of LTTE operatives and the Tamils in Tamil
Nadu and accused the DMK of assisting the Tigers, even
when an Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was fighting
the LTTE in Sri Lanka. The report also blamed former
Prime Ministers VP Singh and Chandra Shekar, for denying
adequate security for Rajiv Gandhi. DMK leader M
Karunanidhi rejects the findings of the Commission and
highlighted the roles of Congress (I) leaders, Indira
Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, in supplying arms and providing
training to the LTTE.
Justice Jain, who had
reportedly devoted a whole section to Chandraswami - the
god-man - seems convinced that the latter was involved.
He quotes intelligence reports and government
communications to buttress his case.
The Jain
Commission final report has also found the information
furnished by the PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, as
"genuine" and left it to the Government to take action
it may think proper. According to the Palestine
ambassador, Arafat, was convinced of the existence of an
international plot to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi and also
of the possibility of the threat manifesting itself in
south India.
The Palestine ambassador to India
was called to the Ministry of External Affairs for
discussions on November 5, 1997. The ambassador has been
in India for nine years and he had warned Rajiv Gandhi
of the threat to his life.
"The ambassador said
that Shri Rajiv Gandhi was not specifically told about
who could be behind the threat. There was a general
discussion of possible sources of danger and in this
context, Mossad, the CIA and the LTTE had been
mentioned. The Ambassador added that although the
information available at that time was based on reports
received from within India and from sources in Israel
and Europe, the Palestinians did not have any specific
information on who would carry out the threat or when
and how it would be implemented. The Ambassador also
said that he had the impression that Shri Rajiv Gandhi
was aware of the threats to his life, as he had then
mentioned to the Ambassador that he had received similar
information separately." (Jain Commission Report -
Volume III, Page 90) On the difficulties in cracking
international conspiracies, the final report said, "The
task to find as to where and by whom the conspiracy was
hatched and how the conspiracy was to be executed is
very difficult, almost impossible to unravel, as neither
the conspirators nor their aides would come forward. It
is only when their actions and activities come to light
at a distant point of time and such persons are
apprehended, it may be possible that they may unravel
the conspiracy."
Coming back to Arafat's
information on the threat to Rajiv Gandhi's life, the
report noted that the then Foreign Secretary, Muchkund
Dubey, had called the Palestine ambassador on June 6,
1991 and talked to him in detail regarding Arafat's
warning to Rajiv Gandhi against the plot to assassinate
him. "The Palestine Ambassador had talked to Shri Gandhi
towards the end of the February in 1991 and again in the
middle of April. On each of these two occasions,
President Arafat had specific information justifying
apprehensions regarding Shri Gandhi's life and had
instructed his Ambassador here to talk to Shri Gandhi.
Again, one week before the assassination, President
Arafat had called the Palestine Ambassador here and had
expressed his anxiety over threat to Shri Gandhi's life
after seeing him and Mrs Sonia Gandhi coming so close to
the crowds in election meetings." (Jain Commission
Report - Vol III, Page 12)
The ambassador
claimed that, during Gandhi's Prime Ministership he used
to keep him informed from time to time of all such
movements and there was a two-way exchange of
information. This came to an end after Gandhi ceased to
be the Prime Minister in 1989. Running through Volume
three, Arafat's apprehension also finds mention in the
information given to the Commission by Sonia Gandhi. She
stated that Arafat had sent messages to Rajiv Gandhi
through the Palestine Mission in India, saying that they
had learnt of threats to her husband's life.
In
the information furnished to the Commission, Sonia
Gandhi said: "This was reconfirmed to me and my children
personally by President Arafat when he met us soon after
my husband's funeral. There were several occasions when
he received similar information from other quarters. His
immediate reaction on getting these warnings would be to
show concern about the safety of his family. He would
ask my daughter and me to take certain precautions…..he
was also worried about the safety of our son, who was
studying in the U.S. He would ask me to telephone him
and urge him also to be extra careful and alert." (Jain
Commission Report - Volume III, Page 63).
Furthermore, "Nepal Review", criticized a news
item titled "Reckless Relations" published in December
1, 1997 issue of "India Today," an Indian news magazine,
which has dragged the Nepalese monarchy into a
controversy by linking it to Rajiv Gandhi's
assassination. The item based on the Jain Commission
report relating to the assassination Rajiv Gandhi states
that, the report contains a RAW document which, quoting
"unverified reports" implicates the Nepalese Queen in
the assassination. "India Today" states, "Queen of Nepal
had asked Major-General Aditya Shamser Jang Bahadur, an
honorary aide-de-camp to King Birendra to arrange for
the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi for which Rs 10 Crore
would be made available". Citing unverified reports to
charge Queen Aishwariya of Nepal of conspiring to kill
Rajiv was clearly uncalled for and its impact on future
Indo-Nepalese relations is difficult to assess.
"Local observers here feel that the sudden
appearance of such news item citing RAW (Indian
intelligence wing) that the Nepali Queen's hand in
helping to engineer the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi,
former Indian prime minister, can only be taken as yet
another RAW move to blemish the Nepali Monarchy. They
state that unverified sources brought into print of this
type can be nothing else than mischievous given also the
distance from reality that such concoctions belie.
General Aditya Shumser, now deceased, (Major-General
Aditya Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana had died years before
Rajiv was killed.) in Nepali reality could hardly be a
trusty of the Palace what with his family linkages in
the Nepali context. To recall, that he was made an
honorary ADC to the King after he was passed over for
the post of Army Chief."
Justice Jain's interim
report had created a political storm in India, when it
said that the DMK, now the ruling party in Tamil Nadu
(at the time of the releasing of the report, but now out
of office and in the opposition), was also part of the
conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi. It also boldly asserted
that the assassination would not have taken place, if
the Tamils of Tamil Nadu had not supported the LTTE. The
Congress party clamored for action against the DMK,
which was then part of the I K Gujral government in New
Delhi. Its insistence led to the fall of Gujral's
government and , subsequent elections brought a
coalition led by the BJP (Bharatya Janata Party) to
office.
In the final report, Justice Jain has
said, only "very few" Tamils in Tamils Nadu had
supported the LTTE. But he said, that DMK Chief and
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and his Minister
Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan, should have been questioned.
The latter is listed among 21 additional suspects, whom
the SIT had failed to investigate. Among the 21 were,
the top LTTE arms procurer K Pathmanathan, (KP), and top
leaders Kittu, and Baby Subramanian. (Full details are
given as an annex to this chapter)
The SIT
source said that, over the seven years it functioned,
the Jain Commission had entertained many such amazing
theories and used the confusion thus created to get its
term extended from time to time.
While further
serious allegations were recklessly made, stated above
by the Jain Commission that, SIT have failed to bring
supplementary charges against 21 people, Karthikeyan,
the head of the SIT, failed to place the truth in his
deposition to the Jain Commission - his interaction,
either friendly or hostile, with the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam - when he was in Sri Lanka on an
assignment during the IPKF period. He himself said in an
interview given to "Frontline" dated February 7-20,
1988, "During the Indian Peace-Keeping Force operation
in Sri Lanka, I was entrusted with a unique operation to
make an assessment of the prevailing situation. I have
never spoken of this assignment before." This statement
shows that he deliberately withheld facts from the Jain
Commission.
In an interview with Rediff.com, an
Indian news website, dated May 14, 1999, D R Karthikeyan
speaks of "Q: The judgment also spoke of a 'paucity of
evidence'. Were you satisfied with the extent of
evidence produced during the investigations?
"A:
Look, my job was like that of a scientist in a
laboratory. I can only find evidence that is already
there. Me and my team worked seven days a week, 20 hours
a day, for a whole year. We viewed 500 videocassettes,
scanned thousands of photographs and interrogated 5,000
people. All together, our evidence would probably fill
this room. Whatever evidence was there, we produced
that. But we couldn't concoct evidence, and I refused
outright to allow any doubtful information, even if it
was merely to help make "the truth appear to be true.
"In fact, let me tell you that, when I was asked
by the [Union] government to take on the investigation
on May 22, 1991, [the day after Gandhi's assassination],
I was heading the Central Reserve Police Force in
Hyderabad. As I was flying from Hyderabad to Delhi,
there was only one thought in my mind, that please let
it not be the LTTE. Because, I had dealt with them
before, and I knew how difficult it would be to catch
any suspects alive.
"It is a little known fact,
but at the height of the Indian peacekeeping force's
operations in Sri Lanka, the then Cabinet Secretary T N
Seshan asked me to go to Sri Lanka, and give the
government an unbiased view of the scenario on the
ground. He said that they had very conflicting report
from various intelligence agencies. They wanted my
version of how well/badly the IPKF was doing. I went all
over the island, wherever our jawans were -- to
Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Jaffna. I studied the LTTE
movement, their operations very closely. When I came
back, I submitted my conclusions that either the IPKF
should be recalled, or if we wanted to have a true
accord in the region, we would have to speak to the
LTTE. "However, events overtook us after that, and the
Rajiv Gandhi government fell soon after. That is why I
had this wishful thinking that I hope it wouldn't be the
LTTE. But when I reached the scene at Sriperumbudur, I
realized fairly soon that it was in fact the LTTE that
had killed Rajiv, and at the end of my investigations, I
also concluded that it was only the LTTE and nobody else
that was involved.
"Q: In that conclusion, you
differed with the Jain Commission, who felt there should
be further investigations into the role of many outside
influences, including the Mossad, the CIA, and god-man
Chandraswami?
"A: [Laughs.] Yes, but how can I
comment on another agency's findings? I will say this,
that if you feel that the LTTE would have done this at
the behest of anyone else, if you think that the LTTE
would have done this for money, then you do not know or
understand the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. From my
investigation, I can say I do, and I don't believe they
are mercenaries. They are committed to their cause, and
their operations are unlike that of any other terrorist
organization in the world. "I think the Jain Commission,
in a sense, became the platform for political vendettas.
Every political party used it to blame every other
political party. I made it clear at the very beginning
of my investigation, that, I would brook no political
interference whatsoever. That is possibly why we
completed our entire investigations, found so many
suspects, all within the space of one year.
"Q:
To go back to the Supreme Court judgment, do you think
it was due to the consideration that as many as 26
people had been sentenced to death? As a member of the
National Human Rights Commission, do you feel more
sensitive to the argument that, hanging so many might be
seen as 'state-condoned massacre'?
"A: No,
that's ridiculous. Human rights doesn't mean supporting
terrorists. Let me tell you, terrorists like the LTTE
are the worst violators of human rights themselves.
Besides, they didn't just kill the former prime minister
of our country. He was at an election meeting, he
unsuspectingly reached out for a garland, and they
tricked him and killed him. Don't forget 17 other
equally innocent people died in the blast. And what
about the effect on our nation? You can't just look at
numbers, but if you want to then 18 people died in the
attack. So why can't 26 people, who have been convicted,
hang for it?" Dr Subramanian Swami in his The
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: Unanswered Questions and
Unasked Queries reproduced an interview published in
"Outlook" magazine: "Jayaram Ranganath, was accused No
26 in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. A Kannadiga
Tamil from Bangalore, he was married to Mirudula (who
has disowned him now), and owned a workshop in the
Garden city. Sivarasan alias one-eyed Jack, and Subha,
part of the killer squad at Sriperumbudur, along with
five other - knocked on his backdoor and received
sanctuary in his house on August 6, 1991. The LTTE
operatives stayed on till August 20 when CBI raided the
house. "Ranganath was arrested on August 18, 1991, for
sheltering Sivarasan and Subha. Ironically, it was
Ranganath after being apprehended, who informed the
police about the fugitives in his house. Ranganath filed
an affidavit before the Jain Commission through a
pro-LTTE lawyer, 'Outlook,' journalist, A S Panneer
Selvan, (also a pro-LTTE - at present works as News
Editor, along with Malan, another compromising
journalist, attached to Sun News TV network of
M.Karunanidhi's - the pro-LTTE DMK leader and former
Chief Minister, family owned property), managed
thereafter to interview Ranganath. The questions were
sent to him at the high security Poonamallee sub-jail
located within the designated court complex, where the
Rajiv assassination case was being heard. Ranganath's
answers were duly attested by the additional
superintendent if the jail were published by Outlook
(18.12.97), which magazine also ran disinformation
campaign stories in favor of the LTTE for two years,
including 'Mossad did it, line. Here are some excerpts:
"Q: Did Sivarasan and Subha tell you about their
connections with Chandraswami and an AICC functionary?
"A: They did speak about their connections with
Chandraswami and also with a Congress leader from
Karnataka, who was a member of Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet.
They use to say that it was through this leader that
they got the details of Rajiv Gandhi's election tour
programme. They talked about the AICC functionary as
their close associate. During his stay with me,
Sivarasan also informed me that Chandraswami was his
godfather. (In his affidavit submitted to the Jain
Commission on November 4, Ranganath also speaks of
Sivarasan and Subha, naming Aswath Narayan, a local
Congress leader, as one of their friends. Both Subha and
Sivarasan pointed out that, Narayan was close to the
AICC functionary, Margaret Alva in Delhi, who 'helped'
them with Rajiv's tour programme. Margaret Alva did
lobby for Aswath Narayan to get the MLA (Member of the
Legislative Council) ticket in the 1995 Assembly
Elections in Karnataka. It was cut by PV Narasimha Rao
himself at the last moment.)
"Q: What are the
truths the CBI refused to record or act upon?
"A: The CBI chief Karthikeyan warned me not to
speak anything about the AICC functionary or any other
Congress people, and Chandraswami. Karthikeyan seemed to
know the facts about the assassination and also the
powers behind Rajiv's killing. He warned me of serious
consequences if I gave the information to a magistrate
or others. From what he told me it was clear that he was
shielding Chandraswami and some key Congress people.
Even after my request, CBI (SIT) failed to record my
statement.
"Q: How do you know that CBI was
reluctant to arrest Sivarasan and Subha?
"A:
Perhaps because if he were caught alive, Sivarasan would
squeal about those who conspired to kill Rajiv and also
his (Sivarasn's) connection with Congressmen. This is
perhaps why even on August 18, 1991, the CBI did not
allow the local police to catch them. If I get an
opportunity to depose before the Jain Commission, then I
will prove the fact that there are other persons
involved in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. I am the only
one alive who stayed with Sivarasan and Subha (after
assassination) and heard what they have to say about the
killing."
On August 21, 1991, S B Chavan, the
Minister of Home Affairs, made a statement from the
floor of the Indian parliament regarding the encounter
with LTTE militants, on August 20, 1991 at Konanakunte
near Bangalore
"I rise to apprise this August
House on the details of the incident at Konanakunte near
Bangalore in which Sivarasan, one of the main accused in
Shri Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and six others were
found dead.
"In pursuance of the consent given
by the Government of Tamil Nadu to investigate the case
of Shri Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, a Special
Investigation Team was formed. The SIT has examined 346
witnesses and conducted searches at 49 places seizing
incriminating material. 14 accused persons were also
arrested. As you are all aware, the most important
accused who had remained to be arrested were Sivarasan
and Subha. A nation-wide man-hunt was launched and
efforts were being made to locate the hideout of these
main conspirators.
"Suspecting that some LTTE
militants were hiding in Muttati and Beroota villages of
Mandya District, raids, in all, 12 LTTE cadres were taka
Police on 17/18-8-91. In these raids. in all, 12 LTTE
cadres were found dead after committing suicide by
consuming cyanide and five suspect who were apprehended
were admitted in Bowring Hospital, Bangalore. During
investigation, it was ascertained that a person by name
'Anjanappa'n of Puttenahalli had helped the LTTE
militants to find houses in Muttati and Beroota.
Further, a diary containing a list of 26 militants was
also found at Muttati. Based on this information,
another person by name' Ranganath' was also apprehended
by Bangalore City Police. This person gave information
about a house in Konanakunte, which was arranged by him
for six militants. The City Police along with SIT
surrounded this house on the night of 18-8-1991 and kept
a continuous watch on the house. Further, one person by
name 'Prem Kumar', was apprehended at Konanakunte
crossing. He was the man who was supplying food etc., to
the LTTET'E militants hiding in Konanakunte house.
Further enquiries revealed the presence of LTTE
militants including Sivarasan and perhaps Subha in the
above house.
"To try and capture Sivarasan and
others alive, watch was continued throughout the 19th
and the entire area was encircled and guarded by
plainclothes-men and NSG Commandos positioned
strategically. Additional reinforcement of NSG Commandos
and medical expert with latest anti-cyanide antidote
were requisitioned from Delhi. It was decided not to
storm the place, as similar action earlier on several
occasions had resulted in even minor LTTE functionaries
committing suicide. On 19th, around 7.00pm, the LTTE
militants holed up inside the house, opened fire
indiscriminately without any apparent reason. The NSG
returned the fire. This exchange of fire continued for
about 30 minutes and three police personnel (one of NSG
and two of Karnataka Police) sustained injuries. The
injured are out of danger. The militants opened fire
either because, they were wanting to escape under the
cover of fire, or because of some movements close to the
house, where the local residents were trying to move a
broken-down lorry. Two militants who came out, perhaps
in a bid to escape ran back inside the house. Later,
around 8.00 P.M., about 7-8 more rounds were fired by
the militants for about half a minute.
"After
the arrival of the additional reinforcements and the
medical team with the latest anti-cyanide antidote from
Delhi, in the early hours of 20th August, the house was
stormed at about 6.30am. The NSG Commandos blasted the
door and entered the house. They found the dead bodies
of 7 LTTE militants. They included the wanted Sivarasan
and a woman, who is obviously Subha, but whose identity
requires evidential confirmation. Efforts are on to
identify all the other bodies. One AK 47 rifle and a 9
MM pistol and several rounds of ammunition were
recovered. Sivarasan was found with a bullet injury in
the temple of his head. All others obviously died, due
to cyanide poisoning. It is being ascertained, whether
Sivarasan also consumed cyanide capsule. The bodies were
shifted to Victoria Hospital, for post-mortem
examination.
"The whole operation was supervised
by CBI Director, SIT Chief, the City Police Commissioner
of Bangalore and the NSG officers. Meanwhile, the SIT
will continue investigation of case relentlessly, with
the objective of unraveling the entire conspiracy behind
the assassination, identifying and arresting the
remaining accused person and eventually charge sheeting
the case in court." Meanwhile, Dr Subramanian Swamy has
recently raised doubts about the death of Sivarasan, in
his recent book, as follows:
"Sivarasan, for
whom a massive manhunt was mounted by SIT, was finally
tracked down to a house on the outskirts of Bangalore.
He was admittedly the leader of the killer squad and
should have been aware of the highlights of the
conspiracy. But, the intriguing point was that, while
eight others of the squad were found dead by consuming
cyanide (in accordance with the LTTE dictum) Sivarasan
was found dead with bullet injuries. Sivarasan's mortal
remains were quickly cremated, while belt-bomb girl
Dhanu's remains had been preserved in Chennai as a
prosecution exhibit. Why the difference?" - The
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: Unanswered Questions and
Unasked Queries - page 198. One cannot allege that
Subramanian Swamy was a sympathizer of Prabhakaran.
Thus, even the maverick politician Subramanian Swamy
finds it difficult to accept the official version of
Sivarasan's death and the quick cremation of his mortal
remains. Questions arise that if there was no
hanky-panky on Sivarasan's death, why were his remains
hurriedly cremated? Rajeev Sharma, the journalist, who
wrote another book on the assassination, informs that:
"Sivarasan and Subha were cremated amid tight
security at Bangalore's Wilson Garden crematorium on
September 3, 1991" - Beyond the Tigers 1998,
page 104. As informed by defense lawyer Doraisamy, what
Sivarasan revealed to Ranganath, the 26th accused, who
harbored him during the final three weeks of fugitive's
life, about his links to the controversial Chandraswamy
falls into the espionage angle of the Rajiv
assassination. One more incident needs to be pointed
out. It is the arrest and the subsequent death of
Mirasudar Shanmugam of Ramanathapuram. Shanmugam, a
local Congress leader and known to be very close to the
LTTE leadership, was arrested in July 1991. But within a
few hours in SIT custody he was found dead under
mysterious circumstances. The SIT version was that
Shanmugam escaped from the Travelers Bungalow, where he
was being held, when he went to wash his hands after
dinner. He was reported to have escaped, scaling the
back wall of the Travelers Bungalow. Immediately, a
search party of police and dogs, under a Deputy
Inspector General of Police, was organized and sent to
search for the allegedly fleeing Shanmugam. But, it took
nearly seven hours for the search party to locate
Shanmugam's body hanging from a branch right across the
street from the Travelers Bungalow. The special
correspondent of "The Hindu", quoting Nagapattinam
hospital sources, reported on July 22, "The hyoid bone
in the neck was surprisingly found unbroken. The death
could have occurred between 2 and 3am. A person could be
killed without any evidence by pressing hard at a point
below the voice box on the throat."
Shanmugam's
mysterious death was so sudden and quick, also done with
the intention to silence him from talking. SIT and
Karthikeyan knew that Shanmugam knew a lot of
information about the people behind the alleged plot to
kill Rajiv Gandhi. Therefore, it was made sure that he
would not open his mouth.
As Ranganath has
alleged, when reading of the mysterious deaths of
Sivarasan, Subha and others, Shanmugam, and again Dixon
at a later stage, it seems that it was a clear design
adopted by the SIT, to silence those who knew the truth,
so that they would be able to weave a web around the way
it has been pre-determined by those who were behind the
killing of Rajiv Gandhi. It is unfortunate and
reprehensible that, SIT had deliberately withheld
information from the people of India by aiding in the
cover-up of the true conspirators behind the murder of
Rajiv Gandhi. Therefore, some form of action has to be
taken to dig deep into the conspiracy.
Annexure
Jain "spares" Tamils but says
Karunanidhi should have been questioned.
-
Monday, July 13, 1998, Indian Express Newspapers
(Bombay) Ltd.
NEW DELHI, July 12: The
interim report of the Justice M C Jain commission
created a storm and ended a government. A few months
later, Justice Jain has made a turnaround and has
backtracked on some of his controversial comments.
A brief chapter in the final report titled "Deep
nexus with Tamils" shows the volte-face on the support
for the LTTE in Tamil Nadu. Jain had asserted in the
interim report that the assassination of former Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi would not have been possible,
without the "active connivance and support of the Tamils
of Tamil Nadu.
He now says that, the expression
"deep nexus" was meant for "very few" and not the entire
Tamil population. He clarifies, "The expression deep
nexus was never and could never have been intended to
mean that such nexus was with all Tamil-speaking people
of Tamil Nadu. All the Tamilians of Tamil Nadu might not
even be in the know of the activities and operations of
the LTTE.
"When they are not even in the know
of, how can there be a deep nexus?" Jain reiterates the
point several times and attempts to give a logical
explanation for the callous remarks included in the
interim report. "It the [LTTE] did enjoy moral and
material support in Tamil Nadu. This is amply borne out
by the investigation records ... but the deep nexus
could only be with very few"
What kicked off the
controversy and triggered the chain reaction which led
to the fall of the I K Gujral government was, Jain's
alleged "indictment" of M Karunanidhi's DMK. Jain now
clarifies, "There is no indictment in the interim report
of any individual or organization or any party regarding
the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi."
He also says
the commission had inquired into the allegations that
the DMK had printed posters hinting at the tragedy a day
before the assassination and found them to be
"baseless".
However, Jain says further proof had
come to the commission about the "rear base" and
facilitation being given to the LTTE cadres during the
DMK regime. He says this has been further borne out by
reports of the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB),
Madras which were given to the commission after the
submission of the interim report.
The reports,
dealing with the period 1989-91, trace the movement
boats and arrival of arms in coastal Tamil Nadu as well
as give proof of the logistical and medical assistance
that was readily being given to LTTE cadres. The
intelligence reports reinforce the allegations that the
LTTE had a fertile ground in the Tamil Nadu for its
operations during the DMK rule. The report shows that
the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had been kept
informed about the "material and moral" support to the
LTTE from DMK sympathizers.
One such message,
sent by the Additional Director of the Intelligence
Bureau (IB) to the Home Secretary on January 30, 1990.
The report quotes the letter: "The LTTE has been taking
full advantage of the sympathies of the DMK in Tamil
Nadu ... local DMK leaders in the coastal region of
Thanjavur have also been collaborating with the LTTE in
their illegal trafficking and activities ..." Jain says,
it is for this reason that he felt the Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister, M Karunanidhi should have been among the
politicians, who were questioned by the Special
Investigating Team (SIT), which did the police
investigations in the case. "On many matters his
interrogation was quite relevant."
When Jain
deals with his list of "additional suspects" in the
assassination case (Volume IV) he prefers to refer to
them as the "supporters of chauvinist groups". There are
21 persons who figure in his fresh list of "suspects"
which is going to be made public almost seven years
after the assassination. Jain says the Special
Investigating Team should have filed supplementary
charge-sheet against them. There are 11 Sri Lankans and
10 Indians on the list. Among the Indians is one former
DMK minister Subbulakshmi Jagadishan and six activists
of politicians from the Dravida Kazhagam (DK). Justice
Jain has asked the Government to "adopt such course of
action as it may think fit," against the list of
"suspects" in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
Paving the way for additional charge-sheets being filed,
Justice Jain explains that, this, would in no manner
effect the original case against 41 accused persons.
He says, "the trial by the designated court was
only in respect of the 41 persons arraigned as accused
by the Special Investigating Team. It was not within the
trial court to look beyond the 41 accused, so the
question of exonerating others who did not figure in the
charge-sheet did not exist. "Jain says that contrary to
the assertion (during deposition) of the SIT Chief, D.R.
Karthikeyan, that there "is little scope of involvement
of any other persons," his conclusion was that the SIT
should have filed supplementary charge-sheets against a
"large number" of persons.
He alleges that the
SIT left "several" gaps in the investigation and in many
areas left several areas and allegations either
"uninvestigated" or "half-investigated." Justice Jain's
list of additional suspects includes, Kittu, Baby
Subramanian Justice Jain says that the evidence that has
been presented to him ever since the commission was set
up, shows the role and complicity of 21 persons in the
assassination needs, "further scrutiny, examination and
action in accordance with law". They are:
Sri
Lankans
Kumaran Padmanabha (KP): The main arms
procurer for the LTTE. Investigations revealed that it
was KP who had procured the IED for the belt bomb that
killed Rajiv Gandhi.
Baby Subramanian: Chief
Commander of the LTTE, next only to V. Prabhakaran.
Alleged to have been plotting the assassination from
1986. Many of the accused Indians like freelance
photographer Haribabu were "recruited" by him.
Kanthan alias Neelan: Said to have played a
"very important" role in the execution of the plot.
Kanthan was the chief financer of Sivarasan and acted as
the wireless contact between Sivrasan and Pottu Amman,
the LTTE's intelligence chief.
Ramanan: Member
of LTTE's international wing and an assistant of
Kanthan. He also acted as Sivarasan's wireless operator.
He was among the suspects, who were picked up after the
assassination and let off after questioning.
Chokkan alias Sabhapathy: A smuggler who had
been used for LTTE in several operations. For this
operation, he identified safe houses and provided money
and transportation for several members of the death
squad.
Lingam: A boat operator who was present
in Kodiakkarai, Tanjore when some members of the killer
squad landed and lodged them for two days.
Aruna: Was also present in Kodiakkarai, when the
killer squad arrived.
Nixon: A member of LTTE's
intelligence wing, who manned a wireless base in Tamil
Nadu an recruited some of the accused at Jaffna.
Kasi Anandan: Member of LTTE's Political
Committee. While Baby Subramaniam identified the Indians
on the killer squad, Kasi Ananadan, identified the Sri
Lankans and also created a smokescreen by meeting Rajiv
Gandhi in March 1991.
Kittu: LTTE's
international spokesman, now dead.
Nixon alias
Suren: Associate of Kanthan. He had been apprehended by
the Sri Lankan police after the assassination, had
confessed to being involved in the plot but had been let
off.
Indians
Muthurajan: A known LTTE
sympathizer and assistant of Baby Subramaniam who
escaped to Sri Lanka after the assassination. He
identified Haribabu.
Subbulakshmi Jagdishan: A
former DMK minister, who had been questioned and
released by the SIT. Justice Jain, however, says her
interrogation was "laconic, sketchy and perfunctory."
Subhalakshimi is alleged to have provided refuge to
Santhan, an accused, in her farmhouse in Coimbatore
after the assassination.
T S Mani: DK state
organizer who Justice Jain says was "actively involved"
in the assassination plot. He is alleged to have given
2.5 kilogram's of gold to Sivrasan and helped him escape
to Bangalore. Mani had been picked up by the CBI soon
after the assassination and used as a "source." But
Justice Jain says he gave the CBI false trails. "Law
does not provide protection of such a source," he says.
Jagannathan: An old member of the DK and an
associate of T S Mani. Helped him in providing safe
houses and communication facilities for Sivarasan and
the others at Bangalore.
R Rajan: Described as a
chauvinistic supporter of the LTTE.
Vasanthan: A
confidant of Sivarasan and a member of the DK. Stayed
with members of the squad for several days.
Balaguru, Paulraj and Srikanth: All members of
the DK, who either provided logistical support to the
death squad before or after the assassination.
Vasantha Kumar: An associate of Baby
Subramaniam. He was given money by him and Prabhakaran
to publish the book Satanic Forces in 1989, which was
used by the LTTE for indoctrinating Subha and Nalini.
Next: Fallout in India and Sri Lanka
Chapter
46: Rajiv Gandhi's assassination
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