Friday, July 29 2005 13:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Perhaps for the first time in the history of CBI, a former official, who had investigated the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has produced a 60-minute documentary, highlighting the motive behind the dastardly act.

"I have only done plain speaking. Nowhere, there is any interpretation. I have inserted clippings on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran's speech in the documentary", said K Raghothaman, who retired as Superintendent of Police early this year, told sources.

Pointing out that he had spent nearly Rs 3 to 4 lakh on producing the documentary.

The human bomb: Assassination of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, Raghothaman said he took up the venture because the then head of Special Investigating Team, which probed the killing, D R Karthikeyan and the present Additional Director General of Police, Jammu and Kashmir, R V Raju, had already written a well-documented book on the investigations in to the killing, titled 'In Pursuit of Truth'.

"I then thought of trying to do an audio-visual. The scripting, compilation and production of the film has been done by me", the retired official said adding that prior to the production, he had obtained a 'no objection certificate' from the CBI and post-production, a censor certificate with PG (parental guidance) stamp.

It took four months to complete the documentary.

Raghothaman, who had put in 36 years of service with the premier investigating agency, including about a decade in the investigation of Rajiv killing, said he had started the whole thing casually thinking it would not cost much.

"But I have spent nearly Rs four lakh. I am now looking for buyers", for the documentary, priced at Rs.150 and Rs.250 for the VCD and DVD respectively.

The film opens with video clippings of Rajiv's last press conference in Chennai airport, a public meeting at Porur and his arrival at the Sriperumbudur public meeting venue, where he was assassinated in the year 1991.

"We have obtained rare clippings, which were not made public till now and that includes the human bomb Dhanu being given training in the jungles of Jaffna. Sivarasan (the one- eyed jack as he was described then), who accompanied Dhanu, is shown delivering an anti-India speech in Jaffna after the signing of the Indo-Sri lanka accord", Raghothman said.

A footage from the BBC in which Prabhakaran claims that the case had been foisted against him has also been included, he added, "I have narrated the events leading to the investigation, which disclosed the conspiracy and had proved that the killing was done by the LTTE. During investigation, we came across no evidence to show that anyone else, other than LTTE, was involved in the killing. There is no unseen hands."

"I tried to focus on who the killers were and what was their motive and why LTTE eliminated Rajiv", Raghothaman said.

"I have brought in vital inputs from the letters seized from the accused to prove beyond doubt that the LTTE Chief Prabahakaran had masterminded the assassination", he said.

"The documentary also has several frames of Haribabu, the photographer, who had filmed some of the activities at Sriperumbadur, which has helped in establishing the identity of the killers", he said.

The documentary closes with the last rites of Rajiv being performed in Delhi.