Ironic coincidence and a twist of fate

The man responsible for the death of Rajiv Gandhi did not live to see the 18th death anniversary of the assassinated Indian prime minister. Thus is the strong hand of justice that is meted out in this life itself.

In a twist of fate, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, blamed for the assassination of Gandhi on May 21, 1991, was himself killed by Colombo troops in the north of Sri Lankaon Monday.

Gandhi, then 54, was killed by a woman LTTE cadre in Sriperumbudur, about 30km from Chennai, while about to deliver an election speech.

At about 10pm on that unfortunate day, the young woman, later identified as Thenmozhi Rajaratnam alias Tanu, detonated about 700 grams of RDX hidden under her dress as she bowed to touch Gandhi’s feet.

“It was the biggest mistake of the LTTE (to carry out the assassination). They were totally alienated by the Indian population after that. No political party will touch them,” Colonel R. Hariharan, retired head of intelligence of the Indian peacekeeping force in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990, told Bernama.

Prabhakaran, who led a strong militant force against the government army then, was totally against India’s decision to send a peacekeeping force to the northern part of Sri Lanka.

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