In pics: Nalini Sriharan and her role in Rajiv Gandhi's assasination

A graduate in English language and Literature from Ethiraj College, Nalini was working with a private firm in Chennai. She was the eldest of three children born to Padmavathi, a nurse, and P Sankara Narayanan, a police inspector, who died in 2016.

Unlike the other convicts in the case, neither Nalini nor her family had any political links. It was her brother Bagyanathan’s camaraderie with some friends that brought Murugan to her home.

Nalini, India’s longest-serving woman prisoner, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for her role in the assassination of the former prime minister, has been serving a jail term for the past 29 years.

Nalini was the lone surviving member of the five-member squad behind the assassination. Her role in the murder was exposed with the help of pictures clicked by S Haribabu, a local photographer who also died in the blast.

Nalini was a close aide of an LTTE operative and convict in the case, known as Murugan was arrested a month after the assassination and awarded death sentence.

In 2000,  her death sentence commuted to life imprisonment after Rajiv Gandhi’s widow and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi pleaded for clemency for the sake of Nalini’s daughter who was born in prison.

This happened after Nalini said that she “regrets” the killing of Rajiv Gandhi, adding that his death was a loss to the country.

In September last year, Nalini moved the Madras High Court seeking direction to the Governor of Tamil Nadu to approve the state government's recommendation regarding the release of all seven convicts. She also appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for her early release, besides sitting on a hunger strike in the Vellore prison.

The Tamil Nadu government had recommended the release of Nalini and six other convicts, Murugan aka Sriharan, Jayakumar, Santhan, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Perarivalan aka Arivu to the Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution.