A.G. Perarivalan alias Arivu, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday granted a 30-day "ordinary leave" for A.G. Perarivalan alias Arivu, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, for the purpose of his father's medical treatment. This is the first time he has been granted parole since his arrest in 1991.
A government order was issued in this regard following a plea from Perarivalan's mother Arputham.
The grant of ordinary leave was given following an opinion from the advocate general, according to a home department order.
Relevant prison authorities had also 'remarked,' among other things, that the "ordinary leave can be granted on the condition that life convict Perarivalan should be provided with strong police escort during the period of leave," it said.
The DIG, prisons, Vellore Range, was directed to grant the ordinary leave according to relevant laws following the advocate general's opinion and provide a "strong police escort during the period of leave," it said.
Perarivalan is one the three male convicts serving life sentence in the high security Central Prison at Vellore, the other two being Murugan and Santhan.
He has been lodged there since 1991.
Another life convict in the case, Nalini Sriharan, wife of Murugan, is lodged in the women's prison at Vellore.
Perarivalan's mother Arputham had earlier sought parole for her son, with political parties including the DMK lending support to the demand.
His earlier parole pleas were rejected.
Last month, when the issue of granting parole to him had come up in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, chief minister K. Palaniswami said the government had sought the advocate general's opinion on the matter.
Perarivalan was earlier brought to Chennai for medical treatment for a kidney problem.
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