Perarivalan, who has been in jail for the last 28 years since 1991, is being given parole by the Tamil Nadu government as his father is unwell.
After Perarivalan’s parole got approved, another Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict – Murugan (who is also the husband of Nalini another convict in the case) has gone on a hunger strike inside the prison.
Murugan went on a hunger strike stating that he should not be kept in solitary confinement.
He started the hunger strike allegedly after submitting a letter to the prison official requesting that he should not be kept in solitary confinement.
In a video shot on October 31, Murugan claimed the phone found in his prison cell was not his and added that nothing happens in jail without the prison officials knowing. He said the allegations against him were made to prevent him from going on parole to meet his father who is extremely unwell.
Murugan is a spiritual man and had been eating only fruits during the last week of September to mid-October and around that time is when the officer allegedly found a phone in his custody and moved to solitary confinement.
Both Murugan and Nalini Sriharan went on a hunger strike demanding that Murugan be released from solitary confinement. In the last week of October, Murugan’s niece had approached the court asking it to interfere and make sure he is fine. The above video was taken during a court visit.
Murugan has again started fasting since morning and demanded officials to not keep him in solitary confinement.
Meanwhile, Perarivalan’s parole order clearly stated that he should be escorted by police when he visits his father in the hospital and attends his niece’s wedding in Krishnagiri. Earlier, Perarivalan’s parole request for two months was approved in 2017.
Prasanta Patnaik