Nalini Sriharan, convict in the assassination case of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, attempted suicide on Monday night. Nalini has been lodged at Vellore women’s prison for the past 29 years for her role in the killing of Rajiv Gandhi.
Her lawyer Pugalenthi said she allegedly attempted suicide in jail. This was the first time in the last 29 years that Nalini tried to take her life.
According to Pugalenthi, there was allegedly a quarrel between Nalini and another life convict. The other inmate escalated the issue to the jailer and following that Nalini attempted suicide.
“We want inquiry into it as she never showed such an attitude during her 30-year incarceration. We request CM to move her to Puzhal prison. She isn’t safe in Vellore prison,” her lawyer told news agency ANI, adding that a representation has been given to authorities to shift her to Chennai Puzhal prison considering her safety.
Nalini’s attempt to suicide came after a co-prisoner, who was in a nearby cell, complained against her to authorities, a PTI report said.
The co-prisoner, also a life convict, alleged that the Rajiv case convict was harassing her by giving more and more work and requested that her cell be changed, a top prison department official said. Following the complaint, jail authorities questioned Nalini and changed the cell of the complainant.
Nalini, during questioning started a quarrel with the jailor, said the complaint of the co-prisoner was false and that she did not harass her. Nalini said she will commit suicide if the cell of the co-prisoner was changed.
Nalini is one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. She is the country’s longest-serving woman prisoner.
Nalini was arrested in 1991 in connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. She was awarded capital punishment by a TADA court and the Supreme Court. However, the death penalty was commuted to life .imprisonment by the Tamil Nadu government in 2000.
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