An emotionally distraught Arputhammal, mother of A.G. Perarivalan, who is serving life term in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, stood with folded hands before the mortal remains of jurist V.R. Krishna Iyer.
She travelled from Chennai along with some campaigners of the People’s Movement Against Death Penalty to reach Kochi on Friday to pay last respects to one of the staunch supporters of her campaign.
Accompanied by the activists, Ms. Arputhammal waited in the queue at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium with hundreds of visitors, just a few hours before Krishna Iyer’s body was consigned to flames at the Ravipuram crematorium in the evening.
Pillar of supportHer eyes welled up as she narrated the support extended by Krishna Iyer to her campaign to free her son from the gallows.
“Krishna Iyer was the first one to support me and my family as he was opposed to death penalty. He offered us all support and spoke to my son, who has been serving a jail term. When Perarivalan spoke to him from the jail, Krishna Iyer wished him best of luck and greeted that he would soon be freed,” said Ms. Arputhammal, who had been campaigning for the life of her son.
Perarivalan’s wish“Perarivalan wished to meet the jurist once he was freed from the jail. That wish will remain unfilled as the jurist is no more. He was a saintly person who always spoke for the underprivileged. There can’t be anyone like Krishna Iyer who stood for the marginalised sections of society,” she said.
Ms. Arputhammal also recollected the birthday celebrations of Krishna Iyer, which they had organised in Chennai on November 22. The event was attended by some of the family members of the jurist, she added.
She also met the children of the jurist and acknowledged the support she had received in one of the toughest fights in her life before leaving the stadium.
