A mother’s dream went unfulfilled as the hopes of Thillambalam Maheswari shattered when the news of her son passing away in India reached her in Jaffna on Wednesday (28) morning.
Suthenthira Raja widely known as Santhan was declared dead on the day of his planned return home in Sri Lanka alive after more than three decades and take care of his aged mother.
Santhan a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, released by the Indian Supreme Court on the 11th of November 2022 after 32 years in prison, died around 7.50 AM at the Government General Hospital named after the late Indian Prime Minister in Chennai.
He was suffering from a serious liver ailment and was shifted to the hospital from the special camp at Tiruchirappalli. His request to return to his home in Sri Lanka to be with his elderly mother was approved by the Indian Government a week back. Santhan was scheduled to return today.
But he died early morning before he was to take a flight in the evening. Santhan was admitted to the Chennai Hospital on 27th January and was in the Intensive Care Unit after being diagnosed with Cryptogenic Cirrhosis (a liver disease due to a non-alcoholic condition) under constant monitoring.
His death was confirmed by the Dean of the hospital Dr. E. Thenirajan
“He suffered a setback to his health yesterday (Tuesday) night. He had lost consciousness and we were providing treatment. Around 4.30 am today (Wednesday), he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was revived following a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) procedure and was on ventilator support. However, he failed to respond to further treatment and passed away at 7.50 am,”
Adding further Dr. Thenirajan said they after post-mortem procedures now take further measures to send his body to Sri Lanka.
