The assault of Rajiv Gandhi

This is how the assault on Rajiv Gandhi is described in Dixit’s book. 

“Rajiv mounted the saluting dais, the two national anthems were played, the combined guards presented arms, and the Prime Minister proceeded to inspect the guard of honour accompanied by the Chief of Naval Staff of Sri Lanka. Hardeep Puri had walked down the lane where the cars were parked, as Rajiv commenced his walk down the red carpet, along to the front row of the guard. We had walked out about 30 yards down the lane when he heard a commotion behind us. A couple of Sinhalese with their lungies tied up above their knees were running away from the square where the guard of honour was being held. One of them was shouting something in Tamil. I asked him what had happened. He said something had happened to the Prime Minister of India and there was going to be shooting. 

Hardeep and I rushed back to find Rajiv calmly standing with Sonia beside him, looking tense and not conversing with Jayewardene, as his official limousine was being lined up for his departure. I found a very distraught Gamini Dissanayake standing near the VIP group. To my anxious query, he replied that he did not exactly know what had happened, but some member of the guard of honour had apparently fallen out of line and disturbed the Prime Minister’s inspection. By this time, Rajiv and Sonia had got into their cars. 

I approached Jayewardene and asked him what the commotion was about. He looked me coolly in the eye and said: “Nothing serious. Rajiv tripped a little and slightly lost his balance as he was reaching the last group of soldiers in the guard of honour.” As we rushed back to our cars, an Indian TV journalist told me that one of the Sri Lankan soldiers had tried to hit Rajiv with the butt of his rifle as he was reaching the end of the front row of the guard. 

On getting into the aircraft, I found Sonia seated in tense quietude. I walked up to Rajiv and apologized for not reaching in time to bid him farewell. I put the burning question to the one person who could give the correct answer.

Rajiv had taken off his Bandgala and was in the act of removing his bulletproof vest when I brought up the incident. He smiled ruefully and said. “What is all this nonsensical speculation? Of course, I was hit.” He pulled down his shirt and vest from his shoulder and said, “Mani have a look.” 

There were big blue welts a little away from the base of his neck, and on the shoulder blade, and on the flesh at the back of his shoulder. He put on his shirt, shook me by the hand and said: “Don’t worry. You and your colleagues have done a difficult job, wonderfully. Such things keep happening.”

Puri’s commitment in the discharge of his duties at the time of the signing of peace agreement has come for high praise from Dixit. Puri’s name makes reappearance in the news headlines as India’s Permanent Representative to the UN during the days when Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s panel was deliberating alleged war crimes and human rights violations against Sri Lanka at last stages of the war with LTTE. It was no secret that Puri maintained close connections with the panel members.

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