The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday granted a 30-day parole to AG Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, reported ANI. The court granted him parole to meet his ailing and bedridden father, who is undergoing medical treatment. Perarivalan has been granted parole for the first time since his arrest in June 1991.

The Additional Chief Secretary to Government Niranjan Mardi wrote a letter to the deputy inspector general of prisons in Vellore and cited the convict’s father’s health as the reason for parole, reported The New Indian Express. He also said the convict should be “provided with strong police escort during the period of leave.”

“We will fully believe it only after he actually comes out,” said Perarivalan’s sister Anbumani. “A year back, they said he would be released and we were happy beyond words. But it never happened. This time we are more cautious but we can’t help but be excited about the possibility.”