T Suthendraraja, also known as Santhan, one of seven convicts released in the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, died on Wednesday in a Chennai hospital, according to a hospital official.
Santhan, a Sri Lankan national, had been admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for treatment a few days prior. He died at 7:50 a.m. due to cardiac arrest, according to hospital dean Dr. V Theranirajan.
“He was admitted for treatment of liver failure,” Dr Theranirajan said. “Early morning today, around 4 am, he suffered a cardiac arrest but he was revived with CPR. However, later around 7:50 am, he passed away.”
Santhan was one of three convicts whose death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999 for their role in the assassination plot. The others were Murugan and Perarivalan. However, all three were subsequently granted reprieves, with Santhan being released in November 2022.
Following his release, Santhan was transferred to a special camp in Trichy in accordance with Indian regulations regarding foreign nationals. The Tamil Nadu government recently notified the Madras High Court that Sri Lanka granted Santhan temporary travel documents allowing him to return to his home country.
The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, carried out by a suicide bomber linked with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), is an important event in Indian history. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Santhan was a member of the LTTE’s intelligence wing and was involved in the scheme that led to his assassination.
