Thenmozhi Rajaratnam
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Thenmozhi "Gayatri" Rajaratnam (died 21 May 1991) was the assassin who killed Rajiv Gandhi, herself, and 14 others in a suicide bombing on May 21, 1991, in the Indian town of Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, near Chennai. A member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Tamil Tigers), Rajaratnam was also known as Gayatri and Dhanu. Her birth year has not been conclusively established. It is alleged she was raped by a member of the Indian Peace Keeping Force placed in Sri Lanka during the 26 year War between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. Ironically Dhanu and Sivarasan - the key conspirator were among the militants trained by RAW.[1]
From left to right : Kokila Vani (Youth Congress Worker), Thenmozhi Rajaratnam (Aka Dhanu, the assassin, disguised with spectacles), Latha Kanan (A Congress volunteer), Sivarasan (The mastermind behind the attack, posed as journalist)[2]
Rajiv Gandhi garlanding crowd before explosion or assassination:[3]
The assassin's severed head after explosion:[4]
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[edit] The assassination
Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning in Sriperumbudur for the upcoming parliamentary elections. The last time Rajiv had been in power, his government was instrumental in sending a peace keeping force into Sri Lanka to help enforce a peace accord, which earned the ire of various Tamil militant groups. The troops he had sent in 1987 had fought the Tamil separatist guerrillas.[citation needed].
Rajaratnam had the belt bomb with the explosive material in her lower back region and the power pack, two switches and the circuitry in front. One switch initiated the circuitry and the other activated the bomb. The explosive used was an RDX, about 10,000 steel balls of 2 mm diameter were embedded in the bomb. After garlanding Rajiv, Rajaratnam evidently stooped to touch his feet and activated the explosive. Rajiv might have tried to stop her; his face bore the impact of the blast.
Seven years later in 1998, an Indian court convicted twenty-six people in the conspiracy to assassinate Rajiv. Upon appeal, the death sentence of only four of the twenty-six people was upheld.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Killing Rajiv Gandhi: Dhanu's sacrificial metamorphosis in death". tandfonline.com. 2009. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19472490903387191. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
- ^ http://brainiedeal2.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/op1.jpg?w=491&h=364
- ^ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ilm-7liqP98/RpzydcWd-4I/AAAAAAAAAJM/NFu0LMSo9Gs/s400/Rajiv_Sriperambadu008_3-20060627.jpg
- ^ http://www.sinhaya.com/rajiv.jpg
