90 Days on the Run or Let Loose?

An extract from the chapter ‘Why did the CBI avoid (capturing) sivarasan?’ from Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict Nalini Murugan’s recently released memoir, Rajiv Killing: Forgotten Truths.

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"WAS it really difficult to capture Sivarasan, the man who was named as the main accused in the case? Or was he a skilful eva­der?” That is a question which would have occurred to many. If you ask us, we would assert: He could have been easily caught. and it was the CBI’s investigative wing that deliberately tried to portray him as a difficult person to catch.

I am not making this accusation lightly or superficially. To be fair, this is not even my finding. All that I am saying is based on what the CBI has said, the recorded evidence placed before the court, news reports and other important documents. You must read and form your own conclusion.

On the night of May 21, 1991, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi takes place. The next day itself, May 22, the CBI takes over the case from the Crime Branch CID and appoints a Special Investigation Team. And the hunt for the accused begins.

On May 23, at the Thanjavur bus stand, amidst great drama, they arrest a person by the name of Shankar. The next day, the newspapers carry the story, as given by the police, that Shankar is a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The newspaper reports say, “A Liberation Tiger by the name of Shankar had stayed at a lodge in Purasawalkam. His stay was paid for by Sivarasan.” So it is evident that by May 23 itself the CBI was aware of Sivarasan’s name.

This Shankar was the none other than the fourth accused and one among the 26 persons awarded the death sentence. However, he was later released by the court on the ground that “just because he was a Tiger or was in touch with Sivarasan, he cannot be held guilty of the Rajiv Gandhi murder”.