A look back at Rajiv Gandhi's assassination

Rajiv Gandhi, India's 6th Prime Minister was assassinated on 21 May 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. Here is a look back at the traumatic incident.

Rajiv Gandhi, India's sixth Prime Minister, was assassinated on 21 May 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. An LTTE activist named Thenmozhi Rajaratnam detonated an RDX-laden suicide belt while greeting Rajiv at a function. Here is a look back at the trau

Updated on:

21 May 2020, 5:52 am

2 min read

Civil war was raging in Sri Lanka and on 5 June 1987, India, with Operation Poomalai, intervened. On 29 July 1987, the extremist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam entered into a peace agreement with the Sri Lankan government that was brokered by India. | AFP

The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) contingent that was set to sail off for home from Trincomalee on 29 November 1989, is seen arriving on board M V Akbar. | Express photo

The India-brokered attempt peace was not to the liking of the Sinhalese as well the LTTE. This came to light when a Sri Lankan naval officer named Vijitha Rahana tried to assault Rajiv Gandhi while he was visiting Colombo on 30 July, 1987. | Express Photo

Though the Indian Peace Keeping Force was not intended to get involved in major operations, but it ended up fighting large-scale military battles against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The move was to tackle LTTE’s dream of a sovereign Tamil Eelam, which was a threat to India's 'unity, national interest and territorial integrity'. In Image: Rajiv Gandhi with Panrutti Ramachandran having talks with LTTE supremo Prabakaran | PTI

Prabhakaran (2nd from right) is seen along with other LTTE leaders in Jaffna after they announced a surrender of arms to the Indian Army under a peace accord | PTI/AP

The VP Singh-led National Front government, which came to power in 1989 was short-lived and the LTTE feared the comeback of Rajiv Gandhi. In Image: Former Prime Ministers V P Singh and Rajiv Gandhi. | Express Photo

In 1990, the LTTE, under Veluppillai Prabhakaran, reportedly summoned four of his trusted lieutenants to physically eliminate the Indian Prime Minister. The decision was taken in Jaffna after a discussion on the re-induction of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and a crackdown on the LTTE in Sri Lanka. In Image: Veluppillai Prabhakaran | Express Photo

This led to Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in the infamous suicide bombing at Sriperumbudur | Express Photo

Rajiv appeared at the Sriperumbudur temple grounds where he was greeted by Thenmozhi Rajaratnam alias Dhanu, who, while trying to touch Gandhi's feet, activated a bomb wrapped around her body. | Express Photo

In this picture the body of Sivarasan, the mastermind in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, can be seen after he committed suicide by shooting himself on the outskirts of Bangalore city | PTI Photo

This was the hideout of the Rajiv Gandhi murder accused | Express Photo

A G Perarivalan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, is seen. | Express Photo

Nalini, another accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, can be seen here. She continues to be in jail. | Express Photo

Seventy-year-old Anandraj, a Dravida Kazhagam activist, in whose house at Anna Nagar in Naavalpattu, the LTTE hardcore militant Santhan committed suicide by consuming cyanide. | Express Photo

In this 8 June 2015 photo, Perarivalan, one of the convicts in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, is seen being brought to the RGGGH for a master health check up | Express Photo by P Jawahar

The final moments of Rajiv Gandhi's life and the event were captured by Hari Babu, a photographer present at the event. He was killed in the blast but his camera, which contained the fateful moments in film, proved to be a crucial piece of evidence. | Express Photo

Samdani Begam with Rajiv Gandhi moments before the assassination at Sriperumbudur. Dhanu, whose hair is adorned with jasmine flowers, is the belt bomber who killed Rajiv Gandhi in the explosion | Express Photo