Nalini Sriharan

Introduction

Nalini Sriharan was convicted in the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was one of five suicide bombers, and the sole female survivor of the explosion that claimed Gandhi's life. After completing a 31-year sentence in Vellore Central Prison in Tamil Nadu, she was released on November 12, 2022. Nalini holds the record of being the longest-serving female prisoner in India.

Nalini was born in Ambalavanapuram, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, in 1967 (age 55 as of 2022). She received her bachelor's degree in English literature from Ethiraj College in Chennai, and Afterwards, she worked for a private corporation in Chennai.

Arrested on June 14, 1991, for her role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Nalini managed to attain an MCA (Master of Computer Applications) degree and a tailoring certification from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in 2009 during her incarceration.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 4″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Nalini comes from a Malayalam family. Her mother, Padmavathi Ammal, served as a nurse at a hospital in Chennai.

Nalini is the eldest among her siblings, with a sister named Kalyani and a brother named P. S. Bhagyanathan. In 1991, both her mother and brother were arrested on charges related to their alleged involvement in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. However, the Supreme Court released them in 1998.

Relationship & Children

Nalini is married to V. Sriharan (Murugan), a Sri Lankan citizen and another prisoner in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. Nalini was two months pregnant when she was caught and imprisoned by the police. Nalini gave birth to Megara on January 21, 1992. Later, she changed her name to Harithra Sriharan. Haritra remained in jail with her mother until the age of six.6.

After that, Harithra's grandmother took her to Sri Lanka and later to London, where she worked as a medical practitioner.

Nalini's role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

Nalini was the only one among the five-member assassination squad who survived the blast that took Rajiv Gandhi's life. On May 21, 1991, photographs captured by a local photographer, S. Haribabu (who also died in the blast), helped expose Nalini's links with the conspirators in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.

The investigation by the Special Investigation Team found that Nalini had provided shelter to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) operatives who carried out the murder. He stayed with her and her husband while the plan was being prepared.

Arrest

After absconding for several days, Nalini and her husband Murugan were arrested on June 14, 1991, from Saidapet bus stand in Chennai (Madras). He was found guilty of offenses charged under section 120B (participation in a plan to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi), read with section 302 (murder) of the IPC. As a result, the TADA Court sentenced him and 25 other convicts to death for their role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Many human rights groups opposed the court's secret hearings behind closed doors. Rajiv Gandhi's widow wife, Sonia Gandhi, also filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India seeking clemency for Nalini, as she did not want Nalini's daughter to be orphaned. As a result, on April 24, 2000, the Governor of Tamil Nadu commuted Nalini's death sentence to life imprisonment.

About Daughter

• Nalini was pregnant at the time of the murder. She gave birth to Harithra inside the jail in 1992. Harithra stayed with him in jail until she turned 2 years old. Later, he was brought up by another family.
• Nalini and her husband Murugan did not meet their daughter until 2019. Sriharan got one month's parole from the court to attend her wedding.
• Harithra is a doctor by profession and is settled in London.

Facts

• Nalini was an outstanding student. She received an 87 percent on her post-graduation exam.
• Nalini, who is serving a life sentence, has been granted parole only three times. The first emergency parole was for a few hours in 2004 at the time of her brother's wedding; the second emergency parole was also in 2016 when her father died; and the third and longest (for 51 days) normal parole was in July 2019 when his daughter got married.
• Nalini was unable to meet her daughter for two years after her birth because the authorities refused permission.
• She regrets the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi but also claims that the real culprits behind the conspiracy are still out of reach.