Tamil Nadu: Santhan, convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, dies, died in the hospital named after the former PM
Tamil Nadu: It is notable that the Supreme Court had mandated Santhan's release following his completion of the sentence. He was, nevertheless, detained in Trichy Special Camp for deportation to Sri Lanka alongside other freed prisoners.
On Wednesday, T Suthendraraja, also known as Santhan, who was convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, passed away in a Tamil Nadu government hospital. He was reportedly admitted to Chennai's Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital.
The Dean of the hospital E. Theranirajan said that Santhan was undergoing treatment for liver failure here. He died at 7.50 in the morning. He suffered cardiac arrest at around 4 in the morning. However, he was saved through CPR. He was kept on an oxygen supply on a ventilator. However, his body was not responding to the treatment. According to officials, Santhan's post-mortem will be conducted. After this, his body will be sent to Sri Lanka.
Significantly, the Supreme Court mandated Santhan's release following the completion of his sentence. He was, nevertheless, detained in Trichy Special Camp for deportation to Sri Lanka alongside other freed prisoners. Just last week, the 56-year-old Santhan's emergency travel documents for his deportation to Sri Lanka were authorised by the Ministry of External Affairs' Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO).
MT Santhan had also called for his release from Trichy Special Camp earlier in November. Santhan claimed that he was not free to interact with other people because the window in the special camp room was closed as well. Santhan had claimed that this special camp was not as good for him as the jail.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by an LTTE suicide squad in 1991. Seven people including Murugan, Nalini, AG Perarivalan, Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas and P Ravichandran were convicted in the murder of the former PM. All of them were given a death sentence, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. Apart from Santhan and Murugan, two more convicts, Robert Payas and Jayakumar, are residents of Sri Lanka. The Supreme Court had ordered their release only last year. However, they could not be deported due to lack of valid documents. On the other hand, Perarivalan, Nalini and Ravichandran are Indians and all four have been released.
