'Try to cancel death sentences in Rajiv case'

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko on Saturday requested Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to take efforts for cancelling the death sentence awarded to three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

President Prathibha Patil had rejected the clemency petitions of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, recently.

They were three of the four persons awarded death penalty with the sentence of another convict Nalini, being commuted to life.

Vaiko, who recently took up the case of Perarivalan with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, said there were provisions allowing the Centre to still cancel the death sentence of the three "and there are precedences."

"Even after the President rejected the clemency petitions, the Centre can still cancel the death sentence. It has the right to do that and there are precedences.

"As a humane gesture, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister (Jayalalithaa) should take all steps to cancel the death sentence for these three young Tamils," he said.

Vaiko said in the last 17 years, none had been hanged in Tamil Nadu and that the last person to be executed in the country was in 2004.

Meanwhile, VCK founder and Lok Sabha MP, Thol.Thirumalavan said that he would take up the issue in Parliament next week.