VELLORE: Nalini Sriharan, a life convict in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case, allegedly threatened to commit suicide at the Special Prison for Women in Vellore after a tiff with a co-prisoner, sources said.
The longest-serving woman prisoner, behind the bars since 1991, immediately after the former PM was killed in a human bomb attack during poll campaign in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, was stated to have had a tiff with a co-prisoner late evening on Monday.
Subsequently, prison authorities intervened but Nalini allegedly threatened to end her life, sources stated.
“She had a tiff over the stay of a co-prisoner in the jail on Monday night. The prison officers had intervened. Yet, she threatened to commit suicide. But the issue was settled,” an officer said on Tuesday.
However, Nalini’s advocate P Pugazhendi stated that he was told she had tried to end her life by strangulating with a piece of cloth in the presence of a jailer over the issue of the co-prisoner.
“Nalini wanted the particular prisoner to be shunted out from there because they both had some misunderstanding. On Monday night, she had an exchange of words over the issue with the jailer. Subsequently, she was stated to have tried to strangulate herself. This is what I heard but cannot be confirmed independently,” he said.
However, Pugazhendi, who has been waging a legal battle for the cause of Nalini and her husband Murugan @ Sriharan, also languishing in the prison since 1991, said Nalini is not a timid person to take things emotionally and attempt to end her life.
“She had faced a lot of extremely difficult situations in the past but never attempted to end life. I am yet to confirm what actually happened, and, or whether the prison authorities are trying to distract attention,” he stated.
Responding to the news reports, a senior prisons officer contradicted the advocate's statement and said it was the other prisoner who complained against Nalini.
"A woman life convict prisoner complained to the jailor that Nalini has been harassing her and requested to change her cell to avoid that. There was argument between Nalini with jailor on that issue that she said that other woman has falsely accused her. Nalini threatened that if the woman is shifted from the cell, she would commit suicide. It was a scene created by Nalini but no such incident took place," the prisons officer said.
Nalini has been incarcerated behind the bars for over 29 years now along with six other convicts. Tamil Nadu government’s attempt to release all the seven convicts did not bear the fruits as a Cabinet recommendation was put on hold by the State Governor.
In July last year, she was released on parole for facilitating the arrangements for her daughter’s marriage. She spent a month’s time at a house in Rangapuram in the suburbs of Vellore city amid tight security.