Rajiv Gandhi

Thiruvananthapuram, July 15: The director of a Malayalam film based on the operation to nab Rajiv Gandhi’s killers has alleged that the commandos failed to capture assassination team leader Sivarasan alive because of intervention by the then National Security Guards chief, D.R. Karthikeyan.

Major A.K. Raveendran said Karthikeyan, who headed the team probing the assassination, was in Hyderabad but wanted “One-Eyed Jack” Sivarasan’s Bangalore hideout to be stormed only in his presence.

“The delay proved costly as it gave Sivarasan enough time to kill himself,” said Raveendran, better known as Major Ravi, who had led the commando operation but later quit the army to make movies.

The allegation comes two days after the release of his film Mission 90 Days, which has been drawing huge crowds in Kerala.

Karthikeyan, who later became CBI director, denied the charge. He told local TV: “I was on the spot. This whole drama is for publicity.”

He, however, didn’t clarify whether he meant he was on the spot on August 18, 1991, when the commandos closed in on the house, or August 19 when they stormed it. Major Ravi says Karthikeyan arrived on August 19.

“August 18 was a Sunday. What urgent matter could have held him back in Hyderabad?” the director asked.

“We had to wait for him. It would have been a different story had we done it the same night. It haunts me even today that we could not catch Sivarasan alive.”

By the time the commandos entered the house, Sivarasan and his LTTE comrades had killed themselves by consuming cyanide.

Major Ravi, however, said it was an unintentional blunder on Karthikeyan’s part.

In the film, star actor Mammootty portrays the pent-up frustration of a commando who couldn’t successfully execute an operation.

“This film is based on my personal experience. I have not diluted reality for the sake of commerce. The only gimmick is a Malayalam song,” the director said.

Major Ravi’s first film, Kirthi Chakra, released last year. It portrayed the Indian Army’s fight against militants in Kashmir and was a huge hit. He now plans films based on the 1999 Kargil conflict and the Kandahar hijack drama the same year.