Tamil Nadu govt releases 16 life convicts under its amnesty scheme

CHENNAI: Sixteen life convicts stepped out of the Central Prisons in Vellore and Cuddalore on Thursday after they were released under the state amnesty scheme to mark the 113rd birth anniversary of DMK founder and late Tamil Nadu chief minister C N Annadurai.
Apart from this, the state government has also released 19 convicts who spent nearly 60% of their punishment period under the Union government’s amnesty scheme to mark the celebration of the 75th Independence.
Nine convicts from the Cuddalore Central Prison and seven from the Vellore Central Prison for Men have been released following the government order. They were among the second batch of the prisoners benefited under the amnesty scheme of the state government.
On August 15, the department had released five inmates of the Vellore Central Prison.
They have been shortlisted for the premature release as per the guideline drafted by the government following the announcement of CM M K Stalin on September 13 in the state assembly that 700 prisoners would be released under the amnesty scheme to mark the icon of Dravidian movement and DMK founder C N Annadurai.
“We will release the inmates in batches based on the order from the government,” said a senior official.
On Thursday, the Discharge Prisoners Aid Society extended assistance to seven of the convicts who were released. “Since the convicts were farmers, we distributed agriculture appliances to them to support their livelihood,” said secretary of the society Janardhanan.