Lankan inmates at Chengalpet camp call off stir

By G Saravanan:
Chennai, May 12:
With the authorities giving the state government’s assurance on their imminent release, 10 Sri Lankan inmates lodged in Chengalpet special detention camp and who were in hunger strike since Monday, called off their stir by Wednesday at 5 PM.
The announcement of calling off the hunger strike by agitating inmates came after an assurance by Govindaraj, Q-Branch Inspector from Kanchipuram, who is the in-charge of the special detention camp.
According to sources, inspector Govindaraj has assured the striking inmates that about 10 members of the camp would be released by May 28. He also informed the striking inmates about the efforts taken by the state government on shifting them to live with their family members who reside in other open camps.
As a goodwill gesture, the authorities on Wednesday released Jayaraj, an inmate who was not part of the striking team, to join his family now living at Thiruvarur normal camp since 1990.
It may be noted that Express has carried a story on striking inmates on Tuesday in which it detailed about their sole demand for living with their family members.