Chennai:  A convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, AG Perarivalan who is serving life imprisonment at Vellore Central Prison was today brought to Chennai for medical treatment due to an illness, jail authorities said.

"Perarivalan has been brought to Chennai today. He has been lodged in Puzhal Central Jail and will be treated at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH)," a top state jail official told PTI.

Another senior jail official said 43-year-old Perarivalan was lodged in the high security block in the prison.

"He has a urinary tract infection besides some other medical issues. He was referred to the RGGGH in Chennai by doctors from Vellore General Hospital," he said. The convict was brought amidst tight security, he added.

On the duration of treatment, he said it would be decided by doctors. "He will be in Chennai till such time doctors say it is needed."

The official declined to specify when asked if the convict would be admitted in RGGGH. "He (Perarivalan) will be examined by doctors and if they opine that he should be an in-patient, an appropriate decision will be taken by the government in accordance with law."

Last year, the Supreme Court had commuted the death sentence of three, including Perarivalan in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to life imprisonment.

Perarivalan was arrested in 1991 and has been in Vellore Central prison since then.