Vaiko, other leaders held for protesting against release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts

MDMK founder Vaiko and leaders of some other political parties were detained by police Monday when they tried to picket the Raj Bhavan here over the issue of premature release of seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. 

They protested against Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit for not taking a decision so far on the September 9 recommendation of the AIADMK government to him to release the convicts after the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister K Palaniswami adopted a resolution to the effect. 

Vaiko lashed out at Purohit for not accepting the state government's recommendation though he had given his nod for the release of three AIADMK men convicted and sentenced to life term in the case related to burning of three women students in 2000. 

CPI state secretary R Mutharasan, leaders of DK and VCK, K Veeramani and Thol Thirumavalavan respectively were among the others detained by the police when they staged the protest near the Raj Bhavan, police said. Vaiko and other carried placards demanding the exit of the Governor. 

The MDMK chief warned of intensifying protests against Purohit if the seven people -- Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Ravichandran, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Nalini -- were not released immediately. Purohit had last month approved the premature release of three AIADMK men A Nedunchezhian, G Ravindran and C Muniappan under a scheme in commemoration of the birth centenary celebrations of late Chief Minister and ruling AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran, known as MGR. 

They were serving a life sentence for setting ablaze a bus in Dharmapuri that killed three students of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in 2000 while protesting the then conviction of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in a corruption case. On Monday, Vaiko referred to a Tamil saying to imply that the Governor adopted different yardsticks on the two cases. 

"The Governor is involved in burying justice and human rights," he allegedly said in a statement later.

(With inputs from agencies.)