Vellore's prison authorities say Priyanka never met Nalini

(By: Walter Jayawardhana)

The already controversial issue of Priyanka Gandhi's meeting with Nalini Murugan who was jailed for the murder of Rajiv Gandhi took a dramatic turn today when Vellore Prison Superintendent was quoted by the Times of India as saying that no such meeting has ever taken place.

Anti Congress leaders like Subramanian Swamy has been challenging the prison hierarchy to show on what legal powers such a meeting was arranged.

The Times newspaper said Superintendent Rajasoundari's denial came in a written reply sent to city lawyer named Rajkumar who sought information under the Right to Information Act about the controversial meeting.

Nalini Murugan, is an Indian woman, who took the LTTE suicide bomber to the Rajiv Gandhi meeting where he was killed. LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran and his intelligence chief Pottuamman are still wanted by India for the assassination.

Vellore's Prison authorities wrote to Rajkumar: ""In response to your query, let me inform that on March 14, 2008 and March 19, 2008, nobody had visited the prisoner under contention," referring to the prisoner Nalini.

The Times of India report further said: "Rajasoundari's reply was dated April 11 while Priyanka had acknowledged on April 16 that the meeting had taken place while reacting to media reports about the March 19 meeting. Priyanka said the meeting was her way of "coming to peace with violence and loss that I have experienced".

"Duraisamy, Nalini's advocate, told reporters on Friday that he had preferred an appeal to the State Information Commissioner, appointed under the RTI, alleging that the jail superintendent was trying to 'hush up' the meeting and action should be taken against the official.

"However, officials at the office of the Commissioner of RTI were tight lipped on the issue.

"Duraiswamy also claimed that there was no entry of Priyanka's visit in the jail records and alleged he may have been under instructions."

Meanwhile in related item the same newspaper published interviews of people who were injured and whose kith and kin were killed at the Siriperumbudur suicide explosion by the LTTE who questioned why the younger Gandhi who visited the killer did not come to see them.