Mother of accused says Sonia should once again ask President to spare them

Meanwhile,around 10 members of the National Student’s Union of India (NSUI) (I),Mumbai,stormed the event and shouted slogans against the accused. They shouted,“Rajiv Gandhi amar rahein (Long live Rajiv Gandhi),” as they were driven out of the venue.

Suraj Singh Thakur,the state president of the NSUI,said,“As youth of this country,we will not let the killers of our beloved leader go scot-free.” He said the NSUI strongly opposes the convicts on death row being allowed to release books and allegedly escape the punishment they deserve. “The culprits should be hanged,” Thakur added.

Former judge of the Bombay High Court,Justice Hosbet Suresh,who wrote the foreword in Arivu’s book,said the death sentence would be inhuman even for Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab,the Pakistani gunman. “The state does not have the power to take anybody’s life. Punishment has to be retributive.”

He added that at the beginning of the century,there were only three countries that had abolished the death sentence,but today there are 130.

Ammal,who lives in Joplarpettai with her husband Dyanashekhar (70),a retired schoolteacher,said,“He was only 19 when he went to jail. Today he is 40. If he is pardoned and released,he will work for the betterment of the society and like every mother I would want him to get married and have a family.”