The prison authorities at the Vellore Special Prison for Women claimed to have recovered a mobile phone from within the high security cell of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict Nalini Sriharan on Tuesday morning. This development can have an impact on Nalinis quest for premature release that is now under consideration of the court. Prison officials claimed that the phone was seized from a cloth bag in Nalinis cell during a routine checking by the superintendent of the prison,R Rajalakshmi. We are investigating further, said DG (Prisons) K R Shyamsundar. However,the incident has raised some doubts too,as Nalini,after spending 19 continuous years in prison,has approached the court challenging the governments refusal to grant her freedom. According to one of her lawyers,P Pugazhendi,the timing of this seizure is crucial as the Madras High Court is hearing a petition she filed challenging the rejection of her plea for release. Two weeks ago when I met her inside the prison,she showed me a complaint against the prison officials that she had sent to the ADGP. I am afraid this new development is a fallout of that complaint. Also,they have foisted this new charge to sully her and thus prevent the court from ruling in her favour regarding the premature release petition, he said. Her petition was listed for Tuesday,but did not come up and was carried over to Wednesday,said Pugazhendi,adding,we will face these false allegations legally.
