Chennai: There is some light at end of the tunnel for the three Rajiv case convicts facing gallows. Another senior cop involved in the Rajiv murder case probe has spilt the beans. The then CBI superintendent S.P. Thiyagarajan, a Kerala cadres IPS officer who recorded the confession of Perarivalan among 17 accused in the case, the most vital evidence based on which the TADA court sentenced all 26 accused to death, has admitted to the case having “solid, unchallengeable and uncontested evidence” against the prosecution.
Thiyagarajan follows CBI’s chief investigative officer of the case, Mr Ragotaman, who conceded long back that they did not find out the actual bomb maker. Thiyagarajan made this starting revelation in a documentary made by People’s Movement Against Death Penalty (PMADP). The documentary Uyir Vali (pain of death) showcasing the glaring anomalies in the case and dangers of death penalty was screened during the celebration of justice V.R. Krishna Iyer’s 99th birthday here Saturday evening.
In his sound bite, Thiyagarajan says; “Arivu told me that he didn’t know the purpose of 9-volt battery. I didn’t write that in the confession though law expects us to record the confession verbatim.” He also referred to the transcripts of the conversation that took place between LTTE intel chief ‘Pottu’ Amman and Sivarasan, which was intercepted here, to establish that Arivu was not part of the conspiracy. The only crime Arivu aka Perarivalan committed was buying the battery allegedly used for detonating the bomb.
“The confession was wrongly interpreted, superficially taken and they jumped in to conclusion,” he opined. “I could not do much then. My conscience pricked me. So I thought it is my duty to get in touch with Arivu and his advocates at least now,” he justified. Justice K.T. Thomas who quashed the death penalty to all but four in the case said, (in the documentary), “No person could be punished twice for the same crime. They have already served over 20 years. Hanging them now would be unconstitutional. It is time. They should be freed.”
Justice Krishna Iyer reiterated his anti-death penalty stand in which Arivu’s mother Arputhaammal and father Kuyildasan contradict prosecution to prove their son’s innocence.
