Rajiv Gandhi assassination case: Convict seeks info on Dutt’s early release, Yerwada jail officials to consider plea

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Yerwada authorities have agreed to hear Perarivalan’s plea after dismissing it twice in the past three months. Three months ago, he sent a postal order seeking information on Dutt’s release. “It was rejected by prison authorities, citing that the postal order of Rs 10 was bought in 2011. Then he purchased a new postal order and sent the second petition. This time, it was rejected on grounds that the petitioner was a third party as far as Dutt’s case is concerned,” said Sivakumar.

Perarivalan then sent an appeal, arguing that it is his constitutional right to get information under RTI Act and added that this information is crucial for him as he seeks similar reprieve.

Unlike Dutt, Perarivalan never got parole or bail in the past 25 years, ever since he was arrested in 1991.

The main evidence against Perarivalan, who was 19 when he was arrested, was a confessional statement in which he said he purchased 9 V battery cells (Golden Power) and gave them to Sivarasan, who used them in the bomb. This confession had helped the prosecution prove his role in the conspiracy.

However, former CBI SP V Thiagarajan, who recorded Perarivalan’s statement, later said in an interview that while Perarivalan had admitted that he purchased the battery, “he had said he did not know the battery he bought would be used to make the bomb”. “Such a statement wouldn’t have qualified as a confession. Therefore, I omitted a part of his statement and added my interpretation,” Thiagarajan said.

His mother Arputhammal said her son hopes he won’t be denied justice again. “He was neither an assassin nor a conspirator. It has also been revealed that his confessional statement under TADA was altered by a CBI official. But courts never bothered to look at these facts. Perarivalan’s conduct is good. Dutt, convicted under TADA, was out of prison for some 118 days during his term. My son sent the petition to know on what grounds he was released,” she said, adding, “judicial decisions taken in Dutt’s case should be equal for all”.