Incidentally, Nalini and 25 others were sentenced to death by a special courton January 28, 1998. But the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence toNalini and her husband and two others on May 11, 1999. Nalini's death sentencewas commuted to life imprisonment by the Tamil Nadu governor on April 25, 2000at the behest of Congress President, Sonia Gandhi.
After serving 17 years in prison, Nalini has been fighting for her release, aneffort that apparently got fresh impetus after her March meeting with Priyanka.After the home department rejected her petition for premature release on October30, 2007, she filed a petition challenging the order. Her petition hit a roadblock after Janata Party president Subramaniam Swamy tried to implead himself inthe case on the ground that "the state and central government might colludeto ensure her premature release". Now the Madras high court has ruledthat Swamy's apprehensions had no basis.
Nalini, who had labeled Swamy's petition as an attempt to get "cheappublicity", now goes up against the Tamil Nadu government which is opposingher premature release.
The Overstaying Firangis
With Chennai and its environs being a manufacturing and IT hub, the expatcommunity comes here in large numbers. It includes Americans, Europeansand South Koreans. But it seems many of them overstay their welcome. Nearlythree weeks after Chief Minister M Karunanidhi issued a warning to overstayingforeigners in the state, the police have estimated that at least 4,800 foreignnationals live here without requisite visa. Of them a major chunk are SriLankans and this is apart from the nearly 10,000 that stay at refugee camps allover the state having fled the emerald isle because of the war between the LTTEand the defence forces. Interestingly, 300 odd American nationals of Indianorigin are technically seen as "over stayers" because their visaextension is under process. Other ethnic Tamils from Singapore, Malaysia andFiji also visit.