TN Govt. defends stalling release of LTTE suspect

The Tamil Nadu Government on Tuesday defended in the Supreme Court its decision not to permit premature release of P R Ravichandran, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Submitting an affidavit before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and also comprising Justices P Sathasivam and Deepak Verma, the DMK Government argued that the convict may be incited to go against the law again given the current situation in Sri Lanka.

"The current fight between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government may again infuse passion in him to act against the law," the state Government submitted before the apex court. It said: "The petitioner (Ravichandran) was involved in killing of 16 persons who included a former prime minister, nine police officers and six private individuals. The killing was pre-planned, a pre-mediated conspiracy successfully executed with active help and assistance and participation of the petitioner." Express News