Chennai, Dec 29 (BPNS)
Rajiv Gandhi assassination case ex-convict Robert Payas in a letter to Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.K. Stalin said that the special camp where he was lodged after being released from prison was worse than the jail.
Robert Payas had served thirty-two years in prison as an accomplice in the assassination of former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi at Sreeperumbadur, Tamil Nadu. It may be noted that Robert Payas and five other convicts in the Rajiv assassination case were released from prison on November 11, 2022, following a Supreme Court order.
The former convict in a letter dated December 29th which was released to the media through his Advocate Sivakumar said that the special camp of Tiruchi where he was lodged was worse than the jails where he had served. He complained that only ‘blood relatives’ were allowed to meet the former convicts and said that being a Sri Lankan, he doesn’t have any blood relatives in India and that his friends who had stood with him during his trying times were not allowed to meet him.
Robert Payas also complained that while he was allowed to play outdoor games while in jail, in the special camp he is not allowed to move out of the room. He said that he was suffocated after being lodged in an office room in the camp.
In the letter, he said, “ I am not allowed to even walk outdoors and I feel suffocated and I feel that I am not enjoying freedom and instead feels as if I am shifted to another jail.”
He said that in jails, inmates were allowed to use telephones and speak to relatives and friends once a week and added that in special camp he was not given facilities to telephone friends or relatives.
Robert Payas said that he was facing hardship due to solitary confinement and not being able to speak to people over the telephone and requested the Chief Minister to issue necessary instructions enabling him to have outdoor activities in special camp. He also requested the Chief Minister to allow him to speak to his friends and well-wishers on humanitarian grounds.
He however thanked the Tamil Nadu government for engaging the best legal brains for the release of him and his other fellow convicts. The former convict also expressed his desire to meet the Chief Minister and to thank him for supporting them with the best legal support.
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