Triumph of Truth: Rajiv Gandhi Assassination-The Investigation

by D.R. Kaarthikeyan

The depth of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka and its repercussions in India are illuminated in this account of the investigation, pursuit, and trial of the daring suicide operatives of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who assassinated the young, dynamic Indian leader Rajiv Gandhi. The meticulous inquiry into a special investigation team's efforts to uncover clues is followed by an account of the breathless search for the killers. The obstacles prosecutors overcame to try and convict the criminals reveal the legal challenges inherent in trying assassination cases. This enthralling history offers a critical testimony to how, even in a democracy, minority grievances must be confronted to curtail, or prevent, such violent acts.

Genres: Nonfiction, India, History, True Crime

280 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2004

Reviews

[Naveen Sivadasan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Author D.R.Karthikeyan, who was the head of SIT investigating the murder of Rajiv Gandhi is adept at how to unravel the gory events which led to the trigger of a human bomb and what happens later,a first of its kind in human history.

An asymmetric warfare, which the Indian intelligence establishment could not catch up to the Technological capabilities and the clandestine networks of LTTE makes things imperceptible to the investigation team.Yet,how they furtively reach atop the mountain of secrets is riveting.

A committed network of Eelam tigers,explaining their psyche has been put eloquently by the author also leading to confusion & ennui at times for the reader.q

Read it for a true account of a cop investigating one of the sensational murder case in recent times.

[Srivatsan Srikanth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I found the book very interesting and it definitely kept me hooked. The narrative style was laden with facts, names and places but did not cross the line to become “hard to follow”. The simple writing helped to encapsulate a very information rich narrative into a simple and concise book.

The book delivers what it promises; a peep into the conspiracy behind the Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi through the eyes of the Chief of the Special Investigation Team. Mr.Kaarthikeyan takes the reader along with him from Sriperumbudur to Trichy, Coimbatore and Konanakunte, right up to the jungles of Mullaitheevu, all the while tracking witnesses and Accused persons. A very interesting book for those also interested in police investigations and trial procedure.

Another aspect that struck me as interesting about the book was the background of the Sri Lankan Politics that the author brought in towards the end that put the whole incident into context. This didn’t enter too much into the geo politics or internal politics, at the same time also attempted to keep it as neutral as possible.

In fine, definitely a staple read for anyone attempting to dive into the politics of Sri Lanka, the LTTE and Tamils.

[Thaths · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three-and-a-half stars. The first half of the book is about how the investigation happened following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. It rates 4 stars, the author being the person who led the investigation and had unique knowledge of what happened and how. The second half 0f the book is a bunch of filler material (including extracts from coverage of the investigation from the press), and is not very helpful.

[Dhananjayan Jayabal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a fair idea on what happened and to me this was fair enough hiving out other conspiracy theories

[Huzaifa Baloch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read!

[Niranjana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book that makes the readers privy to some of the unknown facts, and evidence collected during the investigations and the logical deductions made thereafter.

[Pranaav Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author chose this book because Rajiv Gandhi was a really great and smart politic that chose excellent choices. Also he choose to right about this because his assassination but thats not the main the main is that he would right about his life. The book was generally about his life and what he did where he went where he studied and about his love how he got married and also about his mother in law in this book they tales about.I liked almost everything about the book because it was interesting and also because this book told about his life and what to do in my future and how to have a good future. I really liked the book!

[Gopakumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful read!