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Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE for his involvement in the Sri Lankan Civil War. On January 28, 1998, the 26 people accused of conspiring to murder the Prime Minister were sentenced to death under TADA in Chennai, but some of these were later changed to life imprisonments
Announced on 28th Jan 1998
Although the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty has had its fair share of power as executive heads of the country, they have arguably been the most unfortunate when it comes to saving themselves from assassinations and security lapses.
While Indira Gandhi’s murder was a result of her spoiled relations with the Sikh community, her elder son Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination too, was the result of communal discord between him and certain sects of the Sri Lankan community.
Rajiv Gandhi was killed on May 21, 1991, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, while he was on a campaign for the upcoming elections.
As he entered the venue, he was greeted by a crowd of people, which included his killer – 17-year-old Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, or Dhanu.
The tactic she used was uncannily similar to the one used to shoot Mahatma Gandhi – she bent down to seemingly touch the feet of Rajiv Gandhi to seek his blessings but detonated an explosive belt she was wearing beneath her clothes. The suicide bombing killed Rajiv Gandhi and Dhanu and 14 innocent others. Many people were injured fatally in the blast. After investigations, 26 people were arrested for allegedly being a part of the conspiracy to kill the former Prime Minister.
Dhanu belonged to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a militant organisation fighting for the sovereignty of Hindu Tamils in Sri Lanka. Apart from a personal vendetta that their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran held for Rajiv Gandhi, the LTTE was collectively enraged by the Indian involvement in the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Moreover, Rajiv Gandhi had shown intentions of eliminating the LTTE notoriety if he was voted to power again. When security protocol was broken during Gandhi’s visit to Chennai, it became easy for the LTTE members to take advantage and bomb the Prime Minister.
The trials and investigations of his assassination were carried out under TADA – the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.
All 26 of the accused were sentenced to death under TADA on January 28, 1998, causing a huge controversy among legal scholars and human rights groups.
As TADA does not permit appeals made at the level of the High Court, many human rights organisations made appeals to the Supreme Court to conduct the trial transparently.
Eventually, four of the accused were given the death penalty, while the others were imprisoned, mostly serving imprisonments for life.
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