New Delhi: On that day, May 21, 1991 at 10:21 local time, Thenmozhi Rajaratnam alias Dhanu approached Rajiv Gandhi who was campaigning in Sriperumbudur, a town not far from Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu. The young woman bent down, touched the feet of the Prime Minister of India.
A moment later, Duaarr ...! Suicide bomb belt RDX explosive-laden dress tucked in Dhanu exploded. Rajiv Gandhi and 14 others died.
Dhanu, the executor was also killed in the incident that shook India. However, the fate of three people who were found guilty of masterminding the murder of Rajiv Gandhi, is different. They escaped the gallows and the executioner firing. On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court of India decided to relieve his third penalty.
Chief Justice P Sathasivam said, one of the reasons underlying the decision was a delay in responding to a request for forgiveness of their government.
Three actors - Murugan, Santhan, and Perarivalan are members of the Tamil Tigers that defeated Sri Lanka in 2009. They have undergone detention for 20 years.
Gandhi's murder was in retaliation for his decision to send Indian peacekeepers to Sri Lanka. In 2006, the Tamil Tigers have expressed regret over the murder case that made India a nation in shock.
"We believe, pardon request could be decided more quickly," said Justice Sathasivam told the Press Trust of India, as reported by the BBC, Tuesday (18/02/2014).
"MA argues, inhumane fate seseorangf to hang that long," said the lawyer for the defendants, Yug Mohit Chaudhry. "Execution of death can not be carried out after a delay so long, and the government can not even explain the delay."
The mother of one of the defendants claimed was grateful for the judge's decision. "I'm waiting for this decision for a long time. During the 23 years I struggled to find peace," said Arupathammal, mother accused Perarivalan.
Judge's ruling also got pujuan of human rights organizations, Amnesty International. "India should abolish the death penalty - a cruel form of punishment, inconsistent, can not be changed, and not proven to provide a deterrent effect," Amnesty said in a statement.
Last month, the Supreme Court commuted the death 15 prisoners, also by reason of the delay.
Executions are rare in India, but in the last 2 years has been done 2 times. Mohammed Ajmal Qasab, the sole surviving attacker from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, was executed in November 2012 at a prison in the western city of Pune.
Then, in February 2013, a Kashmiri man, Afzal Guru, was hanged in Tihar jail Delhi for the attack on the Indian parliament in 2001.
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