Rajiv Gandhi Assassination: Many Lives of Convict Nalini Before Prison Release

Nalini and her husband Murugan were convicted for the role they played in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

When 58-year-old Nalini Sriharan finally gets to breathe free air, the dubious distinction of her being the longest serving female prisoner anywhere in the world would become passé.

When she entered a prison cell, for the first time, on 14 June 1991, Nalini was a 27-year-old newly married and pregnant woman. At the time, it seemed, she could not have imagined that her life for the following three decades will have to be spent behind bars.

On 12 November 2022, Nalini and her husband Sriharan alias Murugan, were set free by a Supreme Court judgment that ordered the early release six persons convicted for plotting to assassinate former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Gandhi was assassinated in the blast which was allegedly executed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

Nalini and the other convicts were sentenced to death in 1999. Later, the SC commuted their sentence to life imprisonment, which would have ended only at their demise, had it not been for the recent order.

It is believed, the assassination was the aftermath of the support given by India, under Gandhi's leadership, to the Sri Lankan forces accused of ethnically cleansing Lankan Tamils.

'Born To a Freedom Fighter'

Before her incarceration – a fall-out of her meeting and marriage to Sriharan – Nalini was a post-graduate in English, working in a private company. She had hoped to lead a peaceful life away from her constantly squabbling parents, as per her biography.

In her autobiography, Rajiv Kolai: Maraikkapatta Unmaigalum Priyanka Nalini Santhippum (Rajiv Murder: Hidden Truths and Priyanka-Nalini Meeting), as told to senior journalist Ekalaivan, Nalini says her mother Padmavathi, who was vilified for allegedly providing accommodation to LTTE members, was born to a freedom fighter.

“My grandfather Rathina Sabapathi had taken part in many freedom struggles. When he was not fighting for freedom, he would be visiting temples seeking blessings for a child. When my mother was born, he received her in his arms, raised the Vande Matram slogan, and took her to Mahatma Gandhi. It was Gandhi who named her Padmavathi."

Nalini's Autobiography

Born as the eldest child to her parents, Nalini, as per biography, resented being singled out by her mother, who allegedly vent out anger over domestic troubles on her, and decided to live away from home. She notes in the autobiography that her brother Bakiyanathan was among the scores of youngsters who supported the Tamil Tigers. Nalini says the atmosphere at home, and perhaps in Tamil Nadu, was such.

“The state government was in support of the rebels who were fighting for the cause of a separate Eelam. Across the state, the rebels would show videos of ethnic cleansing of Tamils in Sri Lanka. People supported them. The youth thought it was their moral responsibility to stand with and support the rebels. My brother was one such youth.”

Nalini Meets Murugan

It was Bakiyanathan who brought Sriharan alias Murugan – then known to the family as Das – home. Nalini's book says it was through Central Bureau of Investigation that she had first heard the name Murugan.

The idea was to offer Murugan temporary accommodation, till he could find a place on his own. The autobiography says Nalini’s mother Padmavathi had resisted Murugan's stay at her home, but gave in on the condition that he would move as soon as possible.

An LTTE member, Murugan had reached Chennai hoping to continue his studies and fly abroad. Nalini's autobiography alleges that Murugan was often subject to harassment by the Sri Lankan Army because his elder brother was a rebel and had been killed.

Murugan reached Chennai and was introduced to Sivarasan who claimed to be an agent who facilitates foreign trips. Nalini claims in her autobiography that she and Murugan unknowingly walked into Srivarasan's well-laid down trap.

He told the couple that Tamil women garlanding Indian leaders could foster goodwill and earn their support for Eelam. It was later found that Srivarasan was an LTTE member.

Soon after the assassination, the spot to which Nalini was allegedly taken on the pretext of garlanding Rajiv Gandhi, she "realized that she had been caught in an elaborate trap," the biography reads.

Both Tamil Nadu High Court and the Supreme Court had, however, found her guilty of having been a willing participant of the assassination plot.

Life in Prison

Nalini's experiences in prison were marked by alleged torture, an imminent death sentence and long spells of hunger strike for demands including Indian visa for her daughter Harithra.

As she was two months pregnant when incarcerated, Nalini gave birth to her daughter in prison.

Nalini considers the birth of Harithra a miracle in itself. According to her autobiography, there were alleged attempts were made to abort the fetus.

“I will never forget the gynecologist who refused to do it, despite the requests of some officials, stating that she would end up killing two lives including mine. To this day, I keep the gynecologist in my prayers.”

Nalini's Autobiography

“In 2005, Nalini and Murugan undertook a hunger strike for about 19 days demanding Indian visa for their daughter. Their health deteriorated and we had to approach the court for an amicable solution,” says P Pugazhendhi, Nalini’s lawyer.

During her three-decade-long incarceration, Nalini and three others, including her husband, were awarded death sentence on four different occasions. Her death sentence was commuted after an appeal from Sonia Gandhi, which coincided with the Tamil Nadu cabinet’s decision on the same lines.

My daughter was with me in jail for two years before I decided that her fate shouldn’t end up like this and sent her away with a friend’s mother. An officer threatened that he would push my daughter into sex work, even before she was born. What mistake did she commit? How could I let her be with me in jail?”

Nalini's Autobiography

So far, no evidence of custodial torture or torture in prison, in this case, has been proven.

Meanwhile in prison, Nalini studied. She now has an MCA degree, a beautician course certificate and is a certified tailor and yoga instructor. Her husband Sriharan alias Murugan too studied 20 subjects and actively participated in sports in the prison.

“Except for the first few days of our relationship, it has been a very hard time. We stepped into jail holding our love for each other close to ourselves."

Nalini's Autobiography

But about her long prison term. Nalini writes:

“I have achieved something which no woman ever has in the history of the world. I have served the longest term in prison. "I fervently hope no woman would break this record.”

This year, the 58-year-old completed 33 years in prison.

(Kavitha Muralidharan is a senior journalist based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.)