Rajiv case: Murugans daughter appeals to Sonia

Harithas parents Nalini and Murugan were arrested days after Rajivs assassination in 1991.

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

The daughter of Murugan,one of the three convicts on death row for their role in the killing of Rajiv Gandhi,on Thursday appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to intervene and save her father.

In a letter,Haritha,who is doing her second year in Biomedicine in Glasgow University,said,I would like to specially thank Sonia Gandhi as she saved my mum before. I have lived without my parents for 20 years. It is a pain no one should go through. I hope you understand my feelings. My dad means a lot to me. I truly believe he is innocent. If you could help it would be truly wonderful. I will always remain grateful to you.

Harithas parents Nalini and Murugan were arrested days after Rajivs assassination in 1991. She was born in prison in 1992 and has met them only once. As a baby,she was taken to Sri Lanka to her grandmother.

Nalinis death sentence was commuted a decade ago after appeals for clemency. But Murugan is one of three men still on death row. The Madras High Court has ordered an interim,eight-week stay on the execution of three killers. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed a resolution urging the President to reconsider their mercy petitions.

Describing Rajivs assassination as one of the most tragic and devastating moments of Indian history,Haritha,in her letter to Sonia,said: I was too unfortunate to be born in a prison and to grow up without the care… of my parents.

She said Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi would know the pain of growing up without a father. The 20 years of life in prison and that too on a death row and the solitary isolation has almost snatched everything from us…. Save us from this trauma. Save my father and get him back to me,youll be hailed as saviors, she wrote.