Another Rajiv Gandhi assassin gets leave

Perarivalan, one of the seven persons serving life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, has been granted a one-month leave, a top Tamil Nadu Prison official said. Perarivalan, alias Arivu, who is in prison since 1991 and serving life imprisonment at the Vellore Central Prison will be released after compliance with norms for leave. The leave is granted by the prison department in accordance with the Tamil Nadu Suspension of Sentence Rules, 1982 following a plea from the convict citing the health status of his 76-year old father Gnanasekaran. "The 30-day leave will be reckoned from the day he leaves the prison," the prison official said. Perarivalan will be released from jail after a bond was furnished affirming compliance with rules including keeping peace, he added.