Rajiv Gandhi case convict seeks mercy killing

One of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Robert Payas, a Sri Lankan national, has petitioned the Tamil Nadu Government seeking mercy killing.

In a letter to Chief Minister K Palaniswami, he said he should be killed on grounds of mercy and his body should be handed over to his family.

Blaming the Centre, both the previous UPA Government and the incumbent NDA, for opposing the release of seven Rajiv Gandhi case convicts, including him, when former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa took the initiative, he said, “We do not know why our release has been put on hold.” He said Jayalalitaa’s decision to release the convicts was reflective of the aspiration of Tamils not only in Tamil Nadu, but across the world, to see them free.

“I have come to the conclusion that there is no use living when there is no scope for release,” he said, adding that the very long prison sentence has punished not only him, but also his family. On 11 June this year, he completed 26 years of incarceration and entered the 27th year, he said.