B. Robert Payas, a Sri Lankan Tamil, is one of the seven convicts serving life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Payas was accused of harboring LTTE killers. He is lodged in Puzhal Central Jail of Tamil Nadu.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Robert Pius or Robert Pius was born in 1980 (age 50 years; as of 2020) in Kokuvil, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. On 20 September 1990, 20-year-old Robert came to India with his wife and some other relatives and registered as refugees in Rameshwaram. After a few days he went to Madras and started living there.
Family and ethnicity
Robert Pais was born into a Sri Lankan Tamil family.
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Balasundaram.
wife and children
Robert Pius R. at a very young age. Married to Prema. The couple have a son, Thamilko, born on 6 February 1991 in a private hospital in Chetpet, Madras.
role in murder
Robert Pyas was a suspected member of an LTTE commando team sent by the LTTE to India to establish bases for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres. He rented two houses in Madras (now Chennai), in which the conspirators stayed and formulated plans.
trial and judgment
After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi on 21 May 1991, Robert Payas remained absconding for a few days. On June 10, 1991, the SIT (Special Investigation Team) arrested Robert Payas in connection with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. CBI investigated the case and submitted its report. During his trial in a designated TADA (Prevention) Act court in Chennai, it was concluded through his confession and other evidence that Robert Pyas was aware of the conspiracy to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi. The court convicted him under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1987 and several Indian penal provisions. On January 28, 1998, the trial court sentenced Robert Pius and 25 others to death. The decision incensed many legal experts and human rights activists in India. Human rights activists protested the court’s decision and alleged that the trial was not transparent because it was held behind closed court doors and the identities of the witnesses were not revealed to the public. As a result, the Supreme Court decided to consider appeals for review of the case. On 11 May 1999, the Supreme Court acquitted Robert Payas of charges under the TADA (Prevention) Act of 1987 and commuted Robert Payas’ death sentence to life imprisonment.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Robert’s wife, R. Prema is the sister of Jayakumar, another convict serving life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
- Robert Payas claimed during his trial that his one-and-a-half-year-old son was killed in Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) action before he came to India in 1990.
- In 2014, the Jayalalithaa-led Tamil Nadu government demanded the release of seven convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. After this, the Central Government approached the Supreme Court against the state’s decision. In 2016, a five-judge bench of the apex court ruled that the Tamil Nadu government did not have the power to release convicts sentenced under a central law and the case was investigated by the central agency CBI.
- In 2017, the year he completed 26 years of imprisonment, Perarivalan met Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K. Wrote a petition to Palaniswami demanding mercy killing. He has written,
I have come to the conclusion that there is no point in living when there is no scope for salvation. Therefore, I request you to kill me with ‘mercy’ and hand over my body to my family.’
- In November 2019, the Madras High Court granted 30-day parole to Robert Payas to arrange his son’s marriage. This was the first time he came out of jail after his release in 1991.
In picture: Robert Pius coming out of jail on parole after 28 years
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn