Santhan, one of the seven individuals convicted in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has passed away at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai. He was admitted in January for liver failure and diagnosed with cryptogenic cirrhosis.

Santhan (55), originally a Sri Lankan national, was among the group of convicts released from the central prison at Vellore in November 2022. This decision came following a Supreme Court ruling, acknowledging their good conduct during their more than 32-year-long incarceration. 

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi occurred when a woman suicide bomber named Dhanu detonated explosives at a political rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on the night of May 21, 1991. The attack resulted in the tragic loss of at least 13 lives and left over 40 individuals injured. 

The seven convicts initially sentenced to death for their involvement in the assassination included Nalini Sriharan, RP Ravichandran, Jayakumar, Santhan, Murugan, Robert Payas, and AG Perarivalan. Over time, Nalini Sriharan's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2000, and in 2014, the sentences of the remaining six convicts were also reduced. 

During the same year, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalitha, recommended the release of all seven convicts in the case. Last week, the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) under the Union Ministry of External Affairs facilitated an emergency travel document for Santhan, enabling his return to Sri Lanka before his passing.