Chennai: Nalini, serving life term in
the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, has been shifted from
Vellore prison to Puzhal jail in the suburbs of Chennai after
she complained of harassment by jail officials.
Official sources said 44-year-old Nalini was
transferred from high security Vellore prison to Puzhal amid
tight security.
Nalini had earlier this month complained of harassment
by jail officials. She had later alleged her life was under
threat and she was assaulted by prison authorities.
In letters to the ADGP Prisons, Dr K R Shyamsundar,
she had also alleged that attempts were being made to poison
her food.
After she levelled the allegations, the Tamil Nadu
Government had appointed a committee headed by a top prison
official to look into them.
The state government had earlier this year rejected
the plea of Nalini and three other convicts in the Rajiv
Gandhi assassination case for premature release, based on a
report by the prison advisory board. Later, her plea for
release under general amnesty was also turned down by the
Madras High Court.
Nalini was sentenced to death by a special court along
with 25 others in January 1998. The Supreme Court had
confirmed the capital punishment.
However, her death penalty was commuted to life by the
state government on April 24, 2000 allowing a clemency
petition. Congress President Sonia Gandhi had favoured
reduction of her punishment considering the plight of Nalini`s
young daughter.
PTI
