AG Perarivalan alias Arivu is one of the life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. He is accused of purchasing and supplying the nine-volt battery used in the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that detonated and killed former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991.
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Wiki/Biography
AG Perarivalan was born on Friday, July 30, 1971 (age 51 years; as of 2022) in Jollarpet, Tamil Nadu. He has a degree in electronics and communications engineering, which he completed before his arrest. He was 19 when he was arrested in 1991. While in jail, he completed his 12th standard in 2012 with 91.33 percent, the highest among all inmates. After that, he also earned a Bachelor of Computer Applications and a Masters in Computer Applications, both from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), while still in jail.
Pictured: AG Perarivalan in his youth
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 11″
Hair color: black
Eye Color: Black
family and caste
parents and siblings
His father, T Gnanasekaran (aged 78 as of 2020) was a Tamil teacher at a government school in Jollarpet. Gnanasekaran also wrote poems in Tamil with a pen, Kuildasan. His mother, Arputam Amal, was a housewife from the day of her marriage. She ran from pillar to post between prisons, lawyers’ offices and courts, demanding her son’s release. Thousands of people in Tamil Nadu fondly call her Arivama (Arivus Amma).
Perarivalan with parents
He has two sisters, his elder sister AG Anbumani is an engineer in the Rural Development Department and his younger sister AG Arulselvi teaches at Annamalai University.
AG Perarivalan, convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, with his father and sister after the Supreme Court acquitted him on May 18, 2022.
Relationships and children
Perarivalani is unmarried.
Arrest and punishment
On 11 June 1991, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Perarivalan from his residence in Periyar Tidal, Chennai, to investigate the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Later, the case was filed under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act [TADA] against Perarivalan for his alleged role in the murder, and accused him of buying and supplying a 9-volt battery for an explosive device to Sivarasan, who masterminded the murder. On January 28, 1998, a special TADA court in Chennai awarded the death penalty to all 26 accused in the case, including AG Perarivalan. In the case, Perarivalan was convicted of conspiracy (IPC 120-B) and murder (IPC 320). On 11 May 1999, the Supreme Court of India sentenced AG Perarivalan to death. On 18 February 2014, a bench of the Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiva Kirti Singh, commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment along with two other convicts, Murugan and Santhan. Since then, he has been lodged in Pujali Central Jail, Chennai.
A major revelation after 26 years
There were several twists in Perarivalan’s history. AG Perarivalan is also believed to have been a victim of a botched investigation. An important development in the case took place 26 years after his arrest. On October 27, 2017, former CBI officer V. Thiagarajan filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India claiming that he had recorded Perarivalan’s confession as early as 1991, when the investigation was ongoing. He also said that he omitted the part of Perarivalan’s confession where he admitted that he was not aware of the fact that the batteries he bought and gave to the attacker, Sivarasan, were used in the IED that would kill Rajiv Gandhi. He also referred to a May 7, 1991 wireless message sent by the main conspirator, Sivarasan, to Pothu Aman, a key LTTE operative. In the message, Sivarasan is heard saying, “Our intention is not known to anyone except the three of us” – Subha and Dhanu (suicide terrorist) himself. Perhaps there is a possibility that Perarivalan was not known to the conspiracy. However, in 2018, the CBI rejected former CBI investigator V. Thiagarajan’s claim that he deliberately omitted part of Perarivalan’s confession. The CBI report also alleged that Perarivalan was deeply involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi.
publication
Appeal from Death Penalty (Rajiv Murder Case – The Truth Speaks): Written by Perarivalan, this book was published by AB Bardhan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India, before Perarivalan’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. The book tells the story of Perarivalan as a death row inmate; Includes incidents, facts, proceedings and letters of Perarivalan and demands for justice. The book is available in three languages, Hindi, English and Tamil.
Cover of AG Perarivalan’s book, Appeal From The Death Row
Pictured: (From right): Perarivalan’s mother Arputam Amal, CPI(M) general secretary AB Bardhan, MDMK leader Vaiko, CPI leader D. Raja and Jagmohan Singh
release
On 18 May 2022, after more than 30 years in prison in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Perarivalan was released after the Supreme Court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to order his release.
Facts/Trivia
- Perarivalan conducts coaching classes for fellow inmates who are preparing to appear for various exams from the jail.
- He also leads a music group with prison inmates.
- An ex-convict inspired by Perarivalan, Ponapani runs an educational trust called ‘Perarivalan Educational Trust’ which provides free education to the underprivileged children of Tamil Nadu.
- Due to his long imprisonment, Perarivalan developed high blood pressure and other health problems.
- In 2016, Perarivalan suffered severe injuries after he was attacked with an iron rod by another lifer in prison.
Perarivalan was taken to the Government Medical Hospital after he was attacked by one of the inmates
- Perarivalan did not receive bail or parole until 27 years after his arrest in August 2017, when he was granted a month’s parole to spend time with his ailing father. Parole was extended for another month.
Perarivalan’s mother performs aarti as she welcomes her son after 27 years
- In November 2019, Perarivalan was again granted parole to attend his sister’s wedding.
Perarivalan with family members and relatives at her younger sister’s wedding
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Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
