The name AG Perarivalan is a significant one in Tamil Nadu. One among the life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Perarivalan has served 30 years of prison sentence after being convicted along with six others in 1991. His mother Arputhammal, has been a key figure in demanding the release of Perarivalan, who was 20 years old at the time of his arrest. On November 20, several notable Tamil cinema personalities tweeted demanding Perarivalan’s release with the hashtag ‘Release Perarivalan’ trending during the day. The trend began on Arputhammal’s Twitter page.
This included actor Vijay Sethupathi who shared a video message. “I request Governor to respect the Supreme Court’s ruling and release Perarivalan. Arputhammal’s 29 year old fight, we request an innocent man to be released,” he said. Actor Arya wrote, “Look at the suffering of a mother who has been fighting with tears for over a quarter of a century. It is not just Perarivalan who is suffering inside the jail. It is Arupthammal too.”
நாளை 20.11.2020 காலை 9 மணிக்கு தொடங்கி ட்விட்டரில் #ReleasePerarivalan பரப்புரையில் பங்கேற்று ஆதரவளித்து அறிவின் விடுதலையை சாத்தியப்படுத்த வேண்டுகிறேன். நீதிக்கான உங்கள் குரல் ஒலிக்கட்டும். pic.twitter.com/RpeZBdJ5Oc
— Arputham Ammal (@ArputhamAmmal) November 19, 2020
#ReleasePerarivalan pic.twitter.com/Yus8o1RlKw
— VijaySethupathi (@VijaySethuOffl) November 20, 2020
நீதி, நியாயம், சட்டம், தர்மம் அத்தனையையும் தாண்டி கால் நூற்றாண்டு கடந்தும் கண்ணீரோடு போராடும் ஒரு தாயின் தவிப்பைப் பாருங்கள்... சிறை தண்டனையில் அல்லாடுவது பேரறிவாளன் மட்டும் அல்ல, தாய் அற்புதம் அம்மாளும்தான். #ReleasePerarivalan pic.twitter.com/bLEuDbx5sy
— Arya (@arya_offl) November 20, 2020
Composer and actor G V Prakash Kumar demanded not just for Perarivalan’s release but the six others convicted in the case.
போதும் இந்த நீண்ட நெடிய சிறைவாசம் ..
— G.V.Prakash Kumar (@gvprakash) November 20, 2020
குற்றமிழைக்காமலே 30 ஆண்டுகால மிக கொடுமையான சிறைவாசம்..போதும்...! என தமிழினமே ஒன்றுபட்டு சொல்கிறோம்.
பேரறிவாளன் உள்ளிட்ட 7 தமிழர்களை விடுதலை செய்ய ஆளுநர் அவர்கள் ஆவணம் செய்ய வேண்டும் ! @ArputhamAmmal #ReleasePerarivalan
Why many in TN rally for Perarivalan Perarivalan or Arivu
Perarivalan or Arivu, the son of a Tamil poet named Kuyildasan and Arputhamal was 20 years old when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. He was arrested on 18 June 1991. He was primarily charged with taking LTTE leader Sivarasan to a motor shop on 4 May 1991 and buying a motorcycle in his own name but giving a wrong address. Perarivalan also bought two batteries (9-Volt Golden Power Battery) and handed them over to Sivarasan, this battery was used in the belt bomb that Dhanu used to kill Rajiv Gandhi.
In May 1999, the Supreme Court confirmed TADA court's death sentence for Perarivalan and six others, however these sentences were commuted to life imprisonment in 2014.
In Perarivalan's case, it was his 'confessional statement' that led Justices KT Thomas, DP Wadhwa and SSM Quadri to conclude that Perarivalan was aware that Rajiv Gandhi was the target of the attack. However, in 2017, V Thiagarajan, former CBI Officer who was a part of the team that investigated Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination told the court that he had omitted a crucial part of Perarivalan’s statement. In an affidavit, Thiagarajan, who had recorded Perarivalan’s confession, stated that he had failed to record that Perarivalan was unaware of the purpose of the two nine volt batteries he was asked to buy.
Thiagarajan also stated that in the investigation after the confession, it was found that Perarivalan did not know the purpose of the batteries he was asked to buy. Expressing remorse for Perarivalan losing two decades of his life, languishing in prison, Thiagarajan also said that he came out with his statement to clear his conscience.
The CBI which investigated Rajiv Gandhi's assassination also said that Perarivalan was an LTTE supporter who even met Velupillai Prabhakaran and was selling LTTE publications in Tamil Nadu. However, Perarivalan's lawyers have consistently pointed out that many people in Tamil Nadu were aligned with the LTTE and especially prior to Rajiv assassination and there was nothing surprising about it.
Perarivalan was also found to have accompanied LTTE cadres Subha, Dhanu, Nalini and Murugan to Nandanam in Chennai, to recce a programme of former Prime Minister VP Singh, a few days before Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. However, according to his lawyers, since Perarivalan was not aware of who the target was, he was merely accompanying friends.
Justice KT Thomas in 2017 said that using a confession as substantive evidence was a wrong call.
Actor Prakash Raj tweeted a video of Thiagarajan who wrote down Perarivalan’s statement talking, recalling the time he took down the latter’s statement. He also added in the message, “Justice delayed is justice denied… If we had post-conviction exoneration laws, Perarivalan would have been absolved legally after this officer’s interview. Sadly, we still rely on the existing laws for his release. (sic)”
JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED..If we had post conviction exoneration laws, Perarivalan would have been absolved legally after this officer’s interview. Sadly, we still rely on the existing laws for his release. #ReleasePerarivalan pic.twitter.com/JPa1crRBgF
— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) November 20, 2020
Others who tweeted in support include filmmakers Pa Ranjith, Karthik Subbaraj, writer Meena Kandasamy, music composer Santhosh Narayanan and more.
சட்டம் தன் வாசலைத் திறந்த பின்னும் அரசியல் காரணங்களால் விடுதலையை மறுப்பது அநீதி.#ReleasePerarivalan
— pa.ranjith (@beemji) November 20, 2020
30 years of Jail for a man who never committed the crime..
— karthik subbaraj (@karthiksubbaraj) November 20, 2020
30 years of Struggle of a Mother to get his Son back..
Request our @CMOTamilNadu & Governor to give Justice to them
Please Let the Mother & Son live a free Life atleast from now..#ReleasePerarivalan @ArputhamAmmal pic.twitter.com/kc7wa4FLVs
Tamil epic heroine Kannagi fought the state against wrongful execution of her husband. Today's heroine of epic proportions is Arputham Ammal, who at 72, has spent 29 years demanding #ReleasePerarivalan, freedom for her wrongfully-imprisoned son. Support her fight. @CMOTamilNadu pic.twitter.com/cCyqX1a8fU
— meena kandasamy || இளவேனில் (@meenakandasamy) November 20, 2020
#ReleasePerarivalan@beemji pic.twitter.com/RKf5Ccjrfw
— Santhosh Natarajan (@santosanthosh) November 20, 2020
Cinematographer P C Sreeram too, joined the Twitter trend with a video message. “We love our country, let’s show our love with the release of Arivu,” he said. He also tweeted, “From officers to the people in our system who were part of the probe have voiced their apprehension and have put forward their point of view. The collective voice of the people should be respected. Let him see the light after 30 years.”
#ReleasePerarivalan @pcsreeram
— பாஸிசமே வெளியேறு (@ALLEQUALRIGHT) November 20, 2020
Pass it on @ArputhamAmmal @RKRadhakrishn@rajakumaari @savukku @ItsJokker @Samaniyantweet @pkcomrade_02 @beemji @kaajalActress @srkathiir @isai_ @GunasekaranMu @jkavinmalar pic.twitter.com/vpgVBIGicl
#ReleasePerarivalan
— pcsreeramISC (@pcsreeram) November 20, 2020
From officers , to the people in our system who were part of the probe have voiced their apprehension and hv put forward their point of view.
Collective voice of the people should be respected .
Let him see the light aft 30years #JaiHind