New Delhi, Aug. 3 (PTI): Nalini Sriharan has said she “regrets” the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, who was a “great leader”.

The woman, who is serving a life sentence for her involvement in the plot to assassinate the former Prime Minister, said his death was a “loss” to the country.

Nalini, the lone surviving member of the five-member “assault” squad, said: “I regret the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.” She was one of the prime accused in the case.

Asked in a questionnaire sent by PTI whether the key conspirators had been brought to book, Nalini said: “No, the real killers, Sivarasan, Suba and Dhanu, are already dead.”

Dhanu, a suicide bomber, had carried out the attack at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on May 21, 1991, killing Rajiv Gandhi, herself and 15 others on the spot.

During investigation, pictures clicked by LTTE photographer S. Haribabu, who was also killed, exposed the role of Nalini and the others.

Arrested about a month after the assassination, Nalini was sentenced to death by hanging. Her sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after Rajiv Gandhi’s widow, Sonia Gandhi, appealed for clemency on the ground that Nalini had a young daughter.

Nalini, whose petition for premature release is pending before Madras High Court, said in her email reply through her lawyer Elangovan that her meeting with Priyanka Gandhi, who visited her in jail in March, was “unique”. The lawyer said “the real reason behind the meeting is still to be revealed by Priyanka”.