Rajiv Gandhi killers to be hanged on Sept 9

It turned out to be a Black Friday for the three accused sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

The court ordered Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, the three accused, to be executed on the morning of September 9, incidentally also a Friday.

The process to hold their death sentences was set in motion on Friday with the Vellore Prison authorities receiving the communication from Rashtrapathi Bhavan that the president has rejected the clemency petition filed by the three LTTE activists.

“Yes, we received all the relevant documents and communique; from both the central and state governments. All the three have been told that the court order will be implemented on September 9,” Arivudhai Nambi, superintendent, Vellore Prison, told DNA.

He said the next seven working days are meant for the accused to complete their last wishes as well as writing to the authorities. “The last time we had a death sentence here was in 1983,” Nambi said.

A source close to the three convicts said they would move the Madras High Court challenging the order. They may approach chief minister Jayalalithaa too.

A top intelligence bureau official said Tamil chauvinist groups were getting ready to unleash protests and riots all over the state if the three LTTE activists are hung. “They are organizing street side meetings The reports are not encouraging,” he said.