Victims kin seethe over clemency call

CHENNAI: The din has settled over the demand for clemency for Rajiv Gandhi case convicts.  But, how do the families of victims of the blast — on May 21, 1991 — view it?Express found the anger palpable among family members of some of the victims. “No government, no political parties or public bothered about what happened to the families of the victims. Where were they when we needed them?” asked Susan Edward, wife of slain sub-inspector of Special Branch CID Edward Joseph. Her two daughters, Alice and Angeline, were seven- and nine-years-old respectively on that fateful day. Both of the daughters, who bore the pain of the loss in their hearts for two decades, believe that the convicts should pay for their ‘karma’ although in principle they are not in favour of the death penalty.Javid Iqbal, whose father Mohammed Iqbal, the then SP of Chengai West Police District, died in the tragedy, wondered why there was no sympathy for the families of those who suffered the loss for their past 20 years.Mohanraj, a retired police inspector who was a part of the CBI investigation team has put up a board at his home that reads, “I feel ashamed and guilty to have worked with the CBI that helped get death sentence for three ‘small persons’ but failed to arrest Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination conspirators.” Balasaraswathi, widow of Pallavaram Inspector Rajaguru, one of the 15 victims, has yet to forgive the accused. “Will the convicts understand the pain of how it is to live without the head of a family and raise two children all alone? They have to be hanged,” she asserts. ‘League’ Mohan, son of late Congress leader ‘League’ Munniswamy, echoes the sentiment: “I want the public and others to consider sentiments of the families who lost their loved ones.”However, for others, the anger seems to have dissipated. S Aslam, who lost his mother Samdai Begum in the blast, says: “What they did was certainly wrong. But they have been in jail for this long. I think that should be considered enough.”K K Sulaiman, a Congress worker who sustained severe burns and injuries but survived to tell the tale, wondered if death could be the only answer to deaths.