NEW DELHI: Top Indian security officials will depose in-camera from Thursday before the Verma commission, probing lapses in security arrangements leading to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The commission would begin in camera hearing of three senior security officials O.P. Tandon, secretary (security), Arun Bhagat, Delhi police commissioner and ‘M.K. Narayanan, deputy inspector general of CBI from Thursday in that order.

‘The All India Congress (I) committees of which Rajiv Gandhi was. President stated Feb. 5 it did not any material related to the assassination which could be submitted before the panel.

‘Among other witnesses to be examined by the commission are Maragatham Chandra Shekhar, Congress (I) MP from Sriperumbudur where Rajiv was killed in a bomb blast, Maragatham’’s daughter and state legislator Latha Priyakumar, ‘TNCC() president K.Rmamurthy and two Mahila Congress (I) leaders Lakshmi Albert and Rama Devi. District collector Sheila Priya is also to be examined.

During the last week of January, the commission held several in camera sitings on an affidavit filed by Kumudavelli, an eyewitness to Gandhi’ assassination on May 21 in Sriperumbudur, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, India said there were several legal channels to get LTTE supreme V-Prabhakaran, declared as a proclaimed offender in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, extradited from Sri Lanka to face changes in a Madras court.

‘An External Affairs ministry spokesman told newsmen here a ‘commonwealth convention on fugitive offenders and a bilateral arrangement could be invoked if Prabhakaran and his colleague Pottu Amman failed to comply with a directive to report in the court of Siddiqui by February 28. Pottu Amman, has also been declared as a proclaimed offender in the case,

“There is a bilateral arrangement in place for extradition of offenders,” the spokesman said referring to the Indian extradition act of 1962 which was made applicable to Sri-Lanka from September 1978.

‘Sri Lankan High Commissioner ‘Naval Kanakratne was Wednesday handed over the proclamation of the, Madras court by the Joint Secretary R.M.Abhayankar.

‘The original proclamation declared by the court has been sent Colombo to India’s high commissioner N.N Jha,

Article extracted from this publication >> February 14, 1992