CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday granted Rs 8 lakh towards advance for legal expenses to release 344 Tamil workers who were still in Andhra Pradesh prisons, on bail. Already, due to her continuous efforts, 172 workers had been released on bail.
A team of two advocates had been deputed to Andhra Pradesh and they would file bail petitions before the courts concerned to release those in prison in the neighbouring State.
On directions from the Chief Minister, District Collectors concerned had received 312 representations from the family members of the Tamil workers who were languishing in Andhra Pradesh prisons, seeking free legal assistance and they were forwarded to the AP State Legal Services Authority. On knowing that as many as 516 Tamil workers have been imprisoned in AP jails without filing any chargesheet against them, Jayalalithaa wrote to her AP counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu on October 10 asking him to provide them free legal assistance so that they could be released on bail.
Further efforts by her had facilitated the release of 172 workers while 344 were still in AP prisons, an official release here said.
The release recalled that when 20 workers from Tamil Nadu were gunned down by AP police in Srivarimettu and Eesagunda areas on April 7, the Chief Minister ordered employment for the family members of these workers apart from granting a solatium of Rs 3 lakh each to the bereaved families.
She also wrote the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister urging him to initiate an impartial inquiry into the shootout incident and take appropriate action against those responsible for it.