Nalini Sriharan (Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Convict) Husband, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	S Nalini Sriharan [1]The Statesman
Famous For	Being India's longest serving female prisoner
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 162 cm in meters- 1.62 m in feet & inches- 5’ 4”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Achievement	Topper in the MCA exams conducted by IGNOU among all the prisoners (2009) [2]The Hindu
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year: 1967
Age (as of 2022)	55 Years
Birthplace	Ambalavanapuram
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Ambalavanapuram, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu
College/University	• Ethiraj College, Chennai • Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
Educational Qualification(s)	• BA in English-language literature (from Ethiraj College, Chennai) [3]The Print • Master of Computer Applications (from IGNOU in 2009) [4]The Hindu
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Husband/Spouse	Sriharan alias Murugan
Children	Daughter- Harithra
Parents	Father- P Sankara Narayanan (died in 2016) Mother- Padmavathi Ammal
Siblings	Brother- P. S. Bhagyanathan Sister- Kalyani

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nalini Sriharan

• Nalini Sriharan was one of the convicts in the assassination case of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She was awarded a life sentence for the same and was lodged in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore Central Prison. After spending 31 years in prison, she was released from Tamil Nadu prisons on 12 November 2022.

• Nalini was born into a well-educated Malayalam family. Her father worked as a police inspector in the Tamil Nadu Police, while her mother was a nurse in a Chennai hospital. Reportedly, the father of India, Mahatma Gandhi, was the one who named Nalini’s mother as “Padmavathi”

• Nalini is the eldest child of her parents. She has two younger siblings; a sister, Kalyani, and a brother, P. S. Bhagyanathan.

• In February 1991, Nalini came in contact with Murugan, a Sri Lankan national and LTTE activist who reportedly influenced and attracted her to join the LTTE movement.

• On 21 May 1991, Nalini went along with the assassin’s team, including Sivarasan (key conspirator), Subha (conspirator), Dhanu (human bomb), and Haribabu (photographer), to attend Rajiv Gandhi’s political rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. Nalini and Subha were sitting in the crowd when Dhanu detonated the IED which killed Rajiv Gandhi.
  

  A picture taken by Haribabu captured Nalini and Subha sitting in the crowd

• After the assassination, Nalini stayed on a run with Murugan for several days. On 14th June 1991, Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested Nalini, along with Murugan, whom she had recently married, from the Saidapet bus stand in Chennai (Madras).
  

  A picture of Nalini and Murugan when they were arrested by the SIT in 1991

  

• Nalini used to work in as a stenographer in a private company before she was arrested.

• Nalini was two months pregnant with Murugan’s child when she was put in prison. On 21 January 1992, she gave birth to her daughter in jail and named her Megara. After giving birth, Nalini was not allowed to see her daughter until two years. Megara was released from prison after she turned 6. After getting out of prison, she was renamed as Harithra and then was taken to London by her paternal grandmother. Harithra now works as a medical practitioner in London.
  

• As the TADA court concluded her trial, she was found to be guilty under the section 120B (for being party to Rajiv Gandhi assassination conspiracy) read with IPC Section 302.

• On 28 January 1998, she, along with 25 other convicts, was sentenced to death by the TADA court. Several human rights groups protested for the death sentence. Rajiv Gandhi’s widow, Sonia Gandhi, wrote a plea to the Supreme Court of India seeking to cancel Nalini’s death sentence as that would orphan her innocent daughter. As a result, on 24 April 2000, the Supreme Court of India commuted her death sentence to life imprisonment.

• The CBI had also arrested Nalini’s mother and brother in 1991, in relation to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination; however, the Supreme Court acquitted them in 1998. ^[5]The Free Press Journal

• While serving her sentence in prison, Nalini attained an MCA (Master of Computer Applications) degree from the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). She emerged as a topper among the inmates who took the MCA exams with her. ^[6]The Hindustan Times

• On 19 March 2008, Nalini met Rajiv Gandhi’s daughter, Priyanka Gandhi, in prison. She told her that neither her husband nor she was aware of the conspiracy of Rajiv Gandhi’s killing.

• In 2016, Nalini released her autobiography titled – Rajiv Kolai: Maraikkappatta Unmaigalum, Priyanka Nalini Santhipum (English Title – The Rajiv Assassination: The Hidden Truths And The Meeting Between Priyanka And Nalini). The book of over 500 pages, unveils the tale of her life, comprising her childhood, her love affair and marriage with Murugan, then the circumstances because of which she became privy to Rajiv Gandhi’s Assassination, her arrest, the ordeal she faced in prison, birth of her daughter in prison, the life in jail, her meeting with Priyanka Gandhi and much more.
  

  Cover page of Nalini’s book

• While serving a life sentence in prison, she was granted parole three times. The first was for her brother’s marriage in 2004, the second was in 2016 on her father’s demise, and the third was parole (for 51 days) in July 2019, for her daughter’s marriage.

• Nalini has written plea letters several times to the Madras high court, seeking premature release; however, all of them have been rejected.

• On 11 November 2022, the Supreme Court of India ordered the release of six accused including Nalini Sriharan and RP Ravichandran, serving life imprisonment in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. After her release, she talked to the media and said that her first priority was to meet her daughter, who lives in the UK, along with her husband and co-convict Murugan. ^[7]The Indian Express She said,
  

  That is my first priority. My entire family is destroyed… I have to gather them in bits and pieces. We will approach the Sri Lankan High Commission for an emergency passport and documents so that our daughter can take us to the UK.”

  

  Nalini Sriharan, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, speaks to reporters during a press conference after being released from prison on 13 November 2022 in Chennai