30 August 2011

Pin It

Full Report Chronology Time Line – Rajiv Gandhi Murder Trial – Part One

Full Report Chronology Time Line – Rajiv Gandhi Murder Trial – Part One



D.R. Karthikeyan headed the Special Investigation Team of the CBI which cracked the assassination plot.

Besides Karthikeyan, the SIT comprised
Radhavinod Raju,
R. Srikumar,
S. Balaji, Salim Ali,
Amit Verma, C. Balasubramaniam,
Ashok Kumar, D. Manoharan and Y. Chellathurai.
The Chief Investigating Officer was K. Ragothaman.


E. Jacob R. Daniel, Special Public Prosecutor and Deputy Legal Adviser to the CBI, worked hard to convert the findings of the SIT investigation into convictions. He appeared for the prosecution both in the trial court and the Supreme Court.

The Rajiv Gandhi assignation was carried out by LTTE suicide bomber Thenmozhi Rajaratnam also known as Dhanu. Later, the real name of the suicide bomber came to be known as Gayatri.

Why LTTE murdered Rajiv Gandhi?

Supreme Court of India held that – LTTE killed Rajiv Gandhi because Rajiv Gandhi in one of his interviews given to Sunday magazine (August 21-28, 1990), where he said he would send the IPKF to disarm LTTE if he came back to power again.

Supreme Court Judge Thomas held that another reason behind the killing of Rajiv Gandhi was that ersonal animosity of the LTTE chief Prabhakaran towards Rajiv Gandhi.

Additionally, the Rajiv Gandhi administration had antagonised other Tamil militant organizations like PLOTE for reversing the military coup in Maldives back in 1988.

After murder of Rajiv Gandhi the Justice J S Verma Commission was formed to look into the security lapses that led to the killing.

In June 1992 – the commission submitted its report.
Final result of recommendation – like all other reports of commissions no action was taken on the final report of J S Verma Commission.

a commission of inquiry was set up under Justice J S Verma. It was constituted on May 27, 1991. It was largely concerned with security lapses. Justice Verma sent his report to the Home Minister on June 12, 1992, with categorical conclusions under three categories: (I) Findings, (II) Lapses or dereliction of duty and (III) Deficiencies in the security system.

Important conclusions which are directly relevant in the context of this subject include: "In view of the continuing high threat to Rajiv Gandhi even on his ceasing to be the Prime Minister ... the decision of the Central Government on 30.01.1990 to withdraw the SPG [Special Police Guard] cover to Rajiv Gandhi, without provision for a suitable alternative for his proximate security ... and the consequent withdrawal of the SPG cover reducing the level of protection to Rajiv Gandhi without any reduction of the threat to him was contrary to Central Government's own earlier decision as well as his security requirement and was unjustified."

Coming to the failure of the Central Government and its agencies, Justice Verma held the IB responsible for failure to disseminate information on the threat perception regarding Gandhi to the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Also, the commission held that the Tamil Nadu Police Force failed to provide the requisite proximate security and prevent access to the human bomb near Rajiv Gandhi which was the proximate cause of the assassination.

The commission also held that the state intelligence branch failed to provide intelligence back up and keep a watch on suspicious elements at the meeting. The commission observed that the assassination could have been averted but for the lapse of the Tamil Nadu police force.

After this report of commission as a Indian style A demand was raised to set up another commission of inquiry to encompass not only the whole conspiracy behind the assassination and the killers but also the brains and conspirators and the sequence of events that led to the assassination.

Therefore, on August 23, 1991, an inquiry commission was set up under Justice Milap Chand Jain, popularly called the Jain Commission. The commission was to make an inquiry in respect of the following matters:

(a) The sequence of events leading to and all the facts and circumstances relating to, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur (other than the matters covered by the terms of reference for the Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice J S Verma);

(b) Whether any person or persons or agencies were responsible for conceiving, preparing and planning the assassination and whether there was any conspiracy in this behalf and, if so, all its ramifications.

Justice Jain in his report said that the SIT left ``several'' gaps in the investigation and in many areas left several areas and allegations either ``uninvestigated'' or``half-investigated.''

Justice Jain's list of additional suspects includes, Kittu, Baby Subramaniam

Justice Jain says that the evidence that has been presented to him ever since the commission was set up shows the role and complicity of 21 persons in the assassination needs,`` further scrutiny, examination and action in accordance with law''.

They are:

SRI LANKANS

Kumaran Padmanabha (KP). The main arms procurer for the LTTE. Investigations revealed that it was KP who had procured the IED for the belt bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi.

Baby Subramaniam. Chief Commander of the LTTE, next only to V. Prabhakaran. Alleged to have been plotting the assassination from 1986. Many of the accused Indians like freelance photographer Haribabu were ``recruited'' by him.

Kanthan alias Neelan. Said to have played a ``very important'' role in the execution of the plot. Kanthan was the chief financer of Sivarasan and acted as the wireless contact between Sivrasan and PottuAmman, the LTTE's intelligence chief.

Ramanan. Member of LTTE's international wing and an assistant of Kanthan. He also acted as Sivarasan's wireless operator. He was among the suspects who were picked up after the assassination and let off after questioning.

Chokkan alias Sabhapathy. A smuggler who had been used for LTTE in several operations. For this operation, he identified safe houses and provided money and transportation for several members of the death squad.

Lingam. A boat operator who was present in Kodiakkarai, Tanjore when some members of the killer squad landed and lodged them for two days.

Aruna. Was also present in Kodiakkarai when the killer squad arrived.

Nixon. A member of LTTE's intelligence wing who manned a wireless base in Tamil Nadu an recruited some of the accused at Jaffna.

Kasi Anandan. Member of LTTE's Political Committee. While Baby Subramaniam identified the Indians on the killer squad, Kasi Ananadan, identified the Sri Lankans and alsocreated a smokescreen by meeting Rajiv gandhi in March 1991.

Kittu. LTTE's international spokesman, now dead.

Nixon alias Suren. Associate of Kanthan. He had been apprehended by the Sri Lankan police after the assassination, had confessed to being involved in the plot but had been let off.

INDIANS

Muthurajan. A known LTTE sympathiser and assistant of Baby Subramaniam who escaped to Sri Lanka after the assassination. He identified Haribabu.

Subbulakshmi Jagdishan. A former DMK minister, who had been questioned and released by the SIT. Justice Jain, however, says her interrogation was ``laconic, sketchy and perfunctory.'' Subhalakshimi is alleged to have provided refuge to Santhan, an accused, in her farmhouse in Coimbatore after the assassination.

T S Mani. DK state organiser who Justice Jain says was ``actively involved'' in the assassination plot. He is alleged to have given 2.5 kilogrammes of gold to Sivrasan and helped him escape to Bangalore. Mani had beenpicked up by the CBI soon after the assassination and used as a ``source.'' But Justice Jain says he gave the CBI false trails. ``Law does not provide protection of such a source,'' he says.

Jagannathan. An old member of the DK and an associate of T S Mani. Helped him in providing safe houses and communication facilities for Sivarasan and the others at Bangalore.

R Rajan. Described as a chauvinistic supporter of the LTTE.

Vasanthan. A confidant of Sivarasan and a member of the DK. Stayed with members of the squad for several days.

Balaguru, Paulraj and Srikanth. All members of the DK, who either provided logistical support to the death squad before or after the assassination.

Vasantha Kumar. An associate of Baby Subramaniam. He was given money by him and Prabhakaran to publish the book Satanic Forces in 1989, which was used by the LTTE for indoctrinating Subha and Nalini.

Jain says that while intelligence agencies like the IB, RAW and the intelligence wings of the three defence services were supposed to ``pool'' their intelligence, this was obviously not happening. ``The need of the time,'' Jain says, ``is that at least there should be one agency fully equipped with sophisticated gadgetry and skilled manpower so that all other agencies and ministries can take help.''

The Justice Milap Chand Jain Commission's nine-volume final report recommends further investigation into at least three crucial aspects of the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. They are: the alleged role played by tantrik Chandraswami; the links of foreign intelligence agencies including the United State's CIA and Israel's Mossad in the conspiracy; and the role of 21 ``suspects'' who have so far not been charge-sheeted.

On the relations between Chandraswami and Narasimha Rao, Justice Jain says, Rao himself had told a former minister that he should not ``insist'' that the Jain Commission be given further documentary proof against the tantrik.The report dwells at length on the ``association' between Chandraswami and Rao. The report states that the two were ``very close'' and that their association was ``not casual''.


the trial was conducted under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).

The designated TADA court in Chennai gave death sentences to all the 26 accused.
Appeal to Supreme Court - only four of the accused were sentenced to death and the others to various jail terms.

THE SIT's first breakthrough in the investigation came from the photographs taken by Haribabu who died in the blast and left behind his camera.
The 10 photographs showed Dhanu, garland in hand; Rajiv Gandhi's arrival at the venue of the election meeting; Dhanu moving closer to Rajiv Gandhi; Sivarajan in kurta and pyjama, with a shorthand notebook, and pretending to be a reporter; the crowd at the venue; and then the explosion itself.

The charge-sheet was a painstakingly researched document which dealt with various details of the conspiracy to kill Rajiv Gandhi. It named 41 persons as accused. Of these, three were absconding: Prabakaran, the LTTE supremo, Pottu Amman, its intelligence chief, and Akila, deputy chief of the LTTE's Women's Intelligence Wing. Twelve were dead. The remaining 26 were brought to trial before the Designated Court, Poonamallee, about 30 km from Chennai.

According to Subramanian Swamy, who was at that time the Minister of Law and Commerce in the Chandrasekhar government wrote in his book, The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: Unanswered Questions and Unasked Queries, "The exact point of the blast was on the carpeted pathway at a distance of 5.5 meters from the alighting point and 9.76 meters short of the steps leading to the stage. There was no crater formed on the ground. Two small burn holes approximately 8 x 6 cms each were found on the carpet. Nearly a 5 square meter area of the carpet, around the point of blast, was found soaked in blood with pieces of flesh and bones embedded in it. In addition to the dead bodies which were sent for post mortem examination, a large number of articles, mostly in damaged condition, were recovered from the scene and sent for examination by a forensic science experts. The notable recoveries included:
(i) Pieces of double-layered denim cloth jacket shaped belt with Velcro stripes at the two ends. The belt had compartments all through its length to conceal the explosives. The belt was apparently shaped to fit a female body.
(ii) Pieces of mustard colored kameez and green embroidered salwar intermingled with the body parts of the unidentified woman. Parts of the Velcro belt were also found strewn with these garments.
(iii) Two pieces of wire intricately placed inside Velcro belt.
(iv) A rechargeable AAA size 9 volt UK made battery;
(v) One on-off switch which could have been used for activizing the IED (Improvised Explosive Device);
(vi) Steel pellets;
(vii) Piece of red carpet which was badly soaked with blood, human remains and chemical traces of materials used for causing explosion:
(viii) Part of a frame of spectacles resembling spectacles worn by the unidentified woman.

"Of the 18 persons killed in the blast, the bodies of all, except Dhanu's, was quickly identified and claimed. Parts of her body were flung violently in different directions. While one of her hands was recovered from a distance of 38 meters north to the blast, the other hand was found 26 meters south of the blast. The head was recovered from a place 12 meters west of the blast. Most parts of the torso of the body were found missing and were probably ripped into several unidentified pieces. The face of the woman was, however, miraculously still identifiable and a bore close resemblance to the one waiting to garland Rajiv Gandhi. The other dead bodies, though badly mutilated, were found almost intact within a radius of 4 meters." - pages 115-116.

"At first, the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) had in the first meeting on the early hours of May 22, 1991, resisted reaching this conclusion, because it was under the impression that the hardcore Kittu in London was their mole in the LTTE. Kittu was even receiving a monthly stipend from RAW funds! Of course, as per LTTE's plan, which was discovered later, Kittu, who had fooled the RAW, was instructed by Prabakaran to deny any hand in the assassination, which Kittu dutifully told the RAW and the RAW in turn told the CCPA."- The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: Unanswered Questions and Unasked Queries Dr Subramanian Swamy - page 125.
As many as 25 LTTE militants committed suicide during the investigation of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The suicides were mainly to conceal secrets.
Among those who committed suicide were Sivarasan -- the 'one-eyed-Jack,' standby assassin Subha, Nehru, Gundu Santhan, Suresh, Dixon, Amman, Kirti and Jamila, all accused in the case.
Mirasdar Shanmugham, an LTTE sympathiser and another accused, later committed suicide by hanging himself at Kodiakadu near Vedaranyam.
A majority of the LTTE cadres bit deadly cyanide capsules to end their lives.

Continued - 


Suggested Reading – 


Part 2 Full Report Chronology Time Line – Rajiv Gandhi Murder Trial 



Reality views by sm

Tags-News Rajiv Gandhi Murder Trial Judgment Timeline Chronology 


2 comments:

Shelley Kasli July 19, 2013  

Subramanian Swamy started his career as a newspaper columnist on the Zionist payroll. He is a Mossad puppet who wrote the blueprint that opened up India for free market loot during 90s and took convenient U turn now on the FDI issue, real twoface. Mossad through it’s dubious activities trained both the Indian Tamilians and Sri Lankans and profited heavily from it’s enormous illegal arms supply to both the sides eventually destabilizing the region that not only put the two countries on a collision course but also lead to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi through it’s Indian stooges one of which was Subramaniyan Swamy. Punch into google Subramanian Swamy – The Mossad Stooge to know the real face of this two faced Mossad puppet.