Perarivalan release: A mother’s relentless struggle of three decades comes to an end

“I am the mother of an innocent boy, plucked away from me 28 years back. He was 19 years old then. I started running behind him, and am still running!”

Thus goes the Twitter profile of Arputham Ammal, mother of A G Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who was released by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Arputham Ammal can now stop running and rest back as her only son Arivu will be by her side forever. She also hopes to get her son married soon – the work on finding a bride for him is already on.

Also Read | My 31 years in prison is the message: Rajiv Gandhi case convict Perarivalan

Behind Perarivalan’s release is the relentless struggle that Arputham Ammal fought for 31 years after her son was arrested on June 19, 1991 for his alleged role in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The mother believed that her son was wronged by the system and knocked at every door that was available to seek her son’s release from prison. From M Karunanidhi to J Jayalalithaa to O Panneerselvam to Edappadi K Palaniswami to M K Stalin – Arputham Ammal met every chief minister who administered Tamil Nadu since 1991 to tell her side of the story.

“This is a victory to my mother’s patience, her sacrifices, and her relentless fight,” Perarivalan said in his first reaction, aptly crediting his release to Arputham Ammal.

She also solicited the support of former Supreme Court judges Justice V R Krishna Iyer and Justice K T Thomas, who headed the bench that convicted Perarivalan. Arputham Ammal’s argument that her son has already spent over two decades in prison and he should be released was endorsed by the two retired judges, politicians, and human rights activists.

Also Read | Timeline: Perarivalan’s arrest and release

A confession by V Thyagarajan, one of the CBI officers part of the team that probed the assassination, that he “altered” the statement of Perarivalan also helped Arputham Ammal fight the case with more vigour. Perarivalan confessed that he bought two batteries but did not know their purpose, Thyagarajan told an English newspaper in 2013, adding that he altered the words which eventually led to his conviction.

“I have never seen such a fight in my life. Perarivalan always told me that his mother’s fight should never end in failure. Perarivalan was inspired by his mother who drew strength from her son. This verdict gives us a lot of energy and empowered us to fight against death penalty,” Selvaraj Murugaiyan of the People’s Movement Against Death Penalty told DH.

Selvaraj, who was associated with Arputham Ammal in her fight for her son’s release, also had a word of praise for Perarivalan. “He was the one who was spearheading the fight from his incarceration. He never got demotivated and finally he was released. We now have hope,” Murugaiyan added.

Arputham Ammal’s legal fight intensified after the Supreme Court in 2014 commuted his sentence from death to life citing the inordinate delay in deciding his mercy petition. She moved the apex court seeking his release.

Perarivalan’s release comes on the 13th death anniversary of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, who ordered the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi from his hideout in Wanni forests of northern Sri Lanka to avenge the Indian leader’s decision to send the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to the island nation to disarm the Tamil militant groups.