Who made, supplied bomb to kill Rajiv, SC questions CBI

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the CBI to inform by next week as to the status of the further probe into the conspiracy angle in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991, including as to who made and supplied the human belt-bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi at Sriprumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

Giving this direction on a writ petition filed by one of the life convicts A.G. Perarivalan, a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Navin Gupta directed the Centre to inform it about the further investigation as it was not clear whether this aspect had been reopened or re-investigated by the CBI. Justice Gogoi asked the CBI “What is the result of the reinvestigation or further investigation on this aspect? Kindly address us on this. We want only this” and posted the matter for further hearing on August 23.

Advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, appearing for convict told the bench that there were several issues, including the conspiracy behind making of the bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi, which were not investigated properly in the case. The court accepted his submission and sought CBI’s response on this aspect.

In his petition Perarivalan alleged that the CBI did not probe the larger conspiracy behind the killing of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 despite an order from a Tada court in Chennai.

Perarivalan said the story of the ‘larger conspiracy’ angle started in 1998 when the Justice M.C. Jain Commission of Inquiry recommended further probe into “various conspiracies behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi”.