“I have just come out. I have been fighting for the past 31 years. I need to breathe fresh air. Give me some time,” said A G Perarivalan of the Supreme Court ordering his release in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
There were celebrations at Perarivalan’s residence in Jolarpettai, 220 km from the state capital, since Wednesday morning. As television screens screamed that Perarivalan had been released after 31 years in jail, everyone broke into tears. Arputham Ammal hugged her son Perarivalan — who was 19 years old when he was picked up by the CBI in 1991 — and her daughters.
The mobile phones at Perarivalan’s house kept ringing – Chief Minister M K Stalin was one of the early callers to congratulate him on the Supreme Court judgment. He also spoke to Arputham Ammal, who promised to meet him soon with her family.
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After distributing sweets to friends, relatives, and well-wishers, Perarivalan made a brief statement to the media reiterating that he did no wrong. While thanking the people of Tamil Nadu and Tamils across the globe, Perarivalan said his release would not have been possible without the relentless fight of his mother.
“I firmly believe there is no need for capital punishment. All are humans. Many Supreme Court judges have spoken against death penalty," he said, before asking the media persons to allow him time to process the fact that he is indeed a “free man” hereafter.
“Give me some time,” he replied when asked what was his future plan. After the interaction, Perarivalan played parai, a Tamil percussion instrument, to express his happiness.
Perarivalan was picked up the CBI in June 1991 after it emerged that he bought two nine-volt batteries and gave them to Sivarasan, one of the key conspirators in the Rajiv assassination. Perarivalan, while admitting handing over the batteries to Sivarasan, pleaded that he did not know the purpose for which they were used. The batteries were used in the bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi and others.