Mercy petition of Rajiv Gandhi's killers rejected

New Delhi: The mercy petition of the killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandhi has been rejected by the President Pratibha Patil, an official said.

"The president rejected the mercy petition last week," a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said. The petitioners were Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, all linked to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The three along with an Indian woman, Nalini, were sentenced to death in 1999 for the assassination of Gandhi in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.

The Supreme Court had confirmed the death sentences of Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan but commuted Nalini's sentence to life imprisonment.

Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan were charged with criminal conspiracy and execution of the suicide attack that killed Gandhi. Soon after the confirmation of their sentence, they petitioned the president.