Rajiv Gandhi killers set to go free from prison
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
NEW DELHI: The chief minister of an Indian state Wednesday ordered the release of all seven people jailed for plotting the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, meaning they could walk free in days.
J. Jayalalithaa, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, announced the decision one day after the country's top court lifted the death sentences on three of those convicted over Gandhi's killing in a 1991 suicide bomb attack.
"Considering that they have spent over 23 years in prison, the cabinet decided to immediately release Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan under the powers vested with the state government," Jayalalithaa said, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency, after a cabinet meeting.