Chennai: Santhan alias T Suthendiraraja (55), one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, who was later released by the Supreme Court, passed away on Wednesday morning at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai. He was admitted to the hospital from a special camp in Tiruchirappalli in January for liver failure and was also diagnosed with cryptogenic cirrhosis.
Hospital dean Dr. Theranirajan confirmed that Santhan suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday morning. Theraniranjan said that Santhan was 'revived' following a Cardiopulmonary resuscitation procedure and was on a ventilator. However, he did not respond to treatment and he died at 7.50 am. He said, "A post mortem will be conducted and legal arrangements are underway for the body to be sent to Sri Lanka."
Originally sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Santhan had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in November 2022, along with five other convicts, after serving over 32 years in prison.
Post-release, the convicts, all Sri Lankan nationals without passports or travel documents, were housed in a special camp on the Trichy central jail campus. While others sought asylum abroad, Santhan petitioned the Madras High Court to facilitate his return to Sri Lanka to be with his elderly mother.
Speaking to the media at the hospital in Chennai, Santhan's lawyer Pugalendhi said, "Union government has not taken any steps to send Shanthan to Sri Lanka. He has died due to delayed treatment. Legally, the body will be taken to his hometown in Jaffna, Sri Lanka." said
Santhan had earlier requested permission to travel to Sri Lanka, a request that the Union government granted on the 24th. His passing marks the end of a long legal and personal struggle, leaving behind a complex legacy in the annals of Indian legal and political history.
