16 Lankans out from camps

CHENNAI: In the aftermath of the hunger strike by inmates of special camps meant for Lankan Tamils at Chengalpet and Poonamalle, the government has released 16 of them. According to sources, 15 inmates were released from the Chengalpet camp on Sunday evening while one person was released from the Poonamalle camp on Monday.Q-Branch sources identified the released inmates as Daniel, Devagaran, Suryakumar, Ananthakumar, Chandrakanth, Sudarshan, Prasanna, Dharmaraja, Sudhakaran, Giridharan, Narayanadas, Sankar, Seelan, Sudhan and Sethu Barith (all from Chengalpet Camp) and Amalan (Poonamalle Camp).The released inmates were from different areas in Northern Sri Lanka and held in the camps for about three years, sources said.With the release, the number of Lankan inmates at the Chengalpet camp now stands at 26 and just three at Poonamalle camp.According to sources, the remaining inmates at the camps would be released in a phased manner within a couple of months.A section of inmates at the Chengalpet Camp had launched a fast in September seeking freedom.  After 12 days of fast, some of them were admitted to the Government Hospital, Chengalpet after their health deteriorated.Since then, there were rumours that some of the inmates would be released. Of those who were released six inmats from Chengalpet had taken part in the fast.