NEW DELHI — Rajiv Gandhi’s assassin dressed for her suicide mission in the party colors of her famous target, an orange shirt and green pants. And she carried a floral bouquet as an added prop, insurance that she would get close enough to the target to blow him to bits.
Three sticks of high-powered, nitro-based explosives were strapped to her back, tucked into pockets in a homemade, denim belt fastened around her waist with Velcro strips under her loose-fitting clothing. The explosives were wired to small switches inside the belt. The killer was under 30, stocky, muscular and athletic.
Only one of the handful of security men deployed that night spotted her as she raced from the small, outdoor stage to greet Rajiv Gandhi as he approached local dignitaries just moments after he arrived in the small south Indian town of Sriperumbudur at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday.
