Chennai: Sharing an acount of the 2008 meeting with Priyanka Vadra at a jail in Vellore, Nalini Sriharan, one among seven convicts serving a life sentence in the 1991 killing of Rajiv Gandhi by a suicide bomber of the Lankan Tamil separatist outfit LTTE, said in a book that Priyanka Gandhi broke down while asking her, “Why did you do it?”
In the book “Rajiv Murder: Hidden Truths and Priyanka – Nalini Meeting”, which got released on Thursday in Chennai by MDMK chief Vaiko, Nalini says, “Priyanka looked straight at me for nearly two minutes in silence. When I raised my eyes to look at her, her cheeks had turned red. Priyanka’s lips quivered, as she asked “Why did you do it? My father is a good man, a soft man, you could have resolved anything over a discussion with him. And then the 44-year-old broke down. I did not expect to see her cry. I know how painful a tear is. “
Nalini replied her, “Madam, I don’t know anything. I won’t even hurt an ant. I’m a prisoner of circumstances. I’ve never thought of hurting anyone even in my dreams. In the 85-minute meeting, Priyanka Vadra was largely patient and a keen listener, but turned angry and even made me feel scared whenever she talked about the other convicts.”
Nalini Sriharan has spent 25 years in prison for the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Nalini, 51, and her husband Murugan are among seven convicts serving a life sentence in the 1991 killing of Rajiv Gandhi by a suicide bomber of the Lankan Tamil separatist outfit LTTE, who greeted the Congress leader with a sandalwood garland and a bomb strapped to her chest during a rally.
In two chapters on the meeting, Nalini claims she discussed the case and told her that she, her husband and other convicts were forced to sign confessional statements.
Nalini’s death sentence was commuted to a life term in 2000 following the intervention of Rajiv Gandhi’s wife and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the mother of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Her daughter Megara lives in the UK.
