A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, a life convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, suffered injuries after a fellow inmate in the Vellore Central Prison for Men attacked him with an iron rod on Tuesday morning.
A senior official of the Prisons Department said, “Perarivalan was attacked by Rajesh Khanna, also a life convict in a kidnap and murder case.”
“Rajesh took a small rusted iron piece that was found in the sand and attacked Perarivalan at about 6.15 a.m. It resulted in a fisticuff. Perarivalan suffered injuries on his forehead and hands.” he said.
DIG prisons, Vellore range, Mohammed Haneefa said Perarivalan sustained minor injuries. He had been treated at the prison hospital where he received four stitches on his forehead, another official said.
According to SA Raman, Vellore District Collector, what provoked Rajesh to attack Arivu was not clear and an inquiry will be held.
Sources in the prison said that Rajesh had picked up a quarrel with Perarivalan as the prison authorities were planning to shift him out of the high-risk block following complaints from fellow prisoners. An inquiry was on.
Former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber at nearby Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991 and seven persons– Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Nalini, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran, were convicted in the case.
Nalini’s death sentence was commuted to life in 2000 following a cabinet recommendation and appeal by Rajiv’s wife, Sonia Gandhi.
