Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi has asked the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka to take necessary steps to bring back the Indians languishing in prisons in the island nation.
“I have asked our mission in Colombo to take necessary action in the matter,” Ravi told IANS on phone from Kochi.

Indian prisoners in Sri Lanka’s jails allege that Indian officials appear to be deaf to their pleas for release.

A spokesman for the prisoners told IANS earlier that some of them had spent 16 years in jail and charged that Indian authorities were making no efforts to get them released. This, he alleged, was in contrast to the concern shown by the government towards Indian prisoners in Pakistan.

The Indian who spoke using a borrowed mobile phone claimed there were 43 Indian prisoners in Sri Lanka — 28 at the Wellikade jail, 10 in Ngombo and five in Anuradhapura.

In a letter to the Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs, the Indian mission in Colombo said an agreement on transfer of sentenced prisoners was under discussion between the two governments.

“An amended draft agreement was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Sri Lanka on Jan 5, 2009. So far, the Sri Lankan government has not responded,” senior embassy official V.K. Viswanathan said in a letter to the ministry.

The prisoner had also claimed that most of the Indians in the three jails were suffering from mental and physical ailments.

“The medical treatment is very poor,” the prisoner had said. “Five Indians died in jail due to lack of proper medical treatment.”

According to Viswanathan, there are 37 Indian nationals in Sri Lankan jails, all on drug trafficking charges.