New Delhi - A life convict in the assassination case of former
prime minister Rajiv Gandhi walked out of a southern Indian jail on
Thursday on a month's parole for her daughter's wedding.
"Nalini Sriharan has been released on parole. It comes with several
conditions," said an official at the Special Prison for Women in
Vellore town in Tamil Nadu state.
Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing by Sri Lanka's rebel
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May 1991 in Sriperumpudur in
Tamil Nadu.
Indian security agencies that unravelled the plot found Sriharan, now
52, was part of the assassination squad.
Sriharan, an Indian national, was initially sentenced to death, but
this was commuted to life imprisonment after she gave birth to her
daughter in jail. Her husband Murugan, a Sri Lankan, is also serving
a life sentence.
The Madras High Court on July 5 granted Sriharan 30 days' parole to
make arrangements for her daughter's wedding.
The court has asked Sriharan not to talk to politicians or the media,
NDTV news channel reported. She has to remain within Vellore district
at a known location with a police escort.
Television channels showed Sriharan walking out of the women's prison
in Vellore town in Tamil Nadu wearing an orange and red silk sari
escorted by policewomen.
She was received by her mother, a retired nurse, NDTV reported.
Sriharan's daughter who is a medical student in Britain is expected
to join them next week.
The only other time Sriharan has left prison was for a day in 2016 to
attend her father's funeral.