Death rap for 26 accused in Rajiv case

Designated judge V Navaneetham delivered in camera the verdict running to more than 2,000 pages, in the high-security sub jail-cum-court complex at Poonamallee, six km from here, at the end of a marathon trial, also held in camera.

All the accused — 16 Sri Lankans and 1guilty of the conspiracy to execute the extraordinary plan hatched by LTTE supremo Vellupillai Prabhakaran to engage a suicide bomber to detonate an explosive concealed in her waist belt.

The prosecution case was that Prabhakaran, angry over the Rajiv-Jayawardene pact of July1987, had long ago decided to eliminate Rajiv, and had acted just prior to the elections of 1991 as he wanted to prevent his return to power.

Prabhakaran, his intelligence chief Pottu Amman and women’s intelligence deputy chief Akila, who have been charged by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) with ordering and supervising the plot, had been declared proclaimed offenders by the trial court on May 29, 1994.

The accused are: Nalini, Sudhendirarajah, Murugan, Shankar, Vijayanandan, Sivaruban, Kanagasabapathy, Athirai, Robert Pyas, Jayakumar, Shanthi, Vijayan, Selvalakshmi, Bhaskaran, Shanmuga Vadivelu, Ravichandran, Suseendran, Perarivalan, Irumborai, Bhagyanathan, Padma, Subha Sundaram, Dhanasekaran, Rangan, Vicky and Ranganathan.

The accused, who did not show much emotion during the major part of the hearing, wept when the sentence was announced.

Except the accused, the prosecution and defence lawyers, security officials and court staff, nobody else was allowed inside the court.

The court found allthe accused guilty under Section 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy) and some sections of the now defunct Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1987. The court said the killing of Rajiv and 15 others using a belt bomb was a terrorist act. Since nine police officials, including the then SP of Chengai-West Mohammed Iqbal, were killed while discharging duty, the court upheld that the accused had been proved guilty for indulging in disruptive activities. However the court did not impose fine on any of the accused. The Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) charges in the case against the accused are under IPC Sections 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy) read with (r.w.) 302 (murder), 326 (causing grievous hurt), 324 (causing simple injury), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 212 and 216 (harbouring criminals), Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act (possession of explosives unauthorisedly), Section 25 of the Arms Act (possessing arms unauthorisedly), Section 12 of the Passport Act (leavingIndia without valid travel documents), Section 14 of the Foreigners Act (coming to India without passport or valid travel documents), Section 6 (1) (A) of the Indian Wireless and Telegraphy Act (possession of any material for illegal wireless transmission) and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the TADA Act (commission of terrorist act).

Of the 26 accused, Nalini, the first accused, has been found guilty under Sections 302 r.w. 34 (common intention to murder Rajiv Gandhi and 15 others) of the IPC on 16 counts and sentenced to death for the offence.