Lankan refugee attempts suicide in Tamil Nadu camp: Report

A Sri Lankan refugee identified only as Ramanan has attempted suicide while being detained in a special camp in Tamil Nadu, his lawyer Rajiv Gandhi has said.

The lawyer has told BBC that Ramanan had consumed 24 sleeping tablets in his attempt at suicide. He is currently being treated at the Poonthamalli government hospital, he had said.

Among the refugees from Sri Lanka to India, those suspected to have had links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and those suspected of certain accusations are being detained in high security camps at Poonthamalli and Senkalpattu camps in close proximity to Chennai.

Thirty persons are being detained in these two camps, BBC reports. These detainees have resorted to several agitations demanding that cases against them be expedited or they be sent to join their relatives if legal steps cannot be taken against them.

Resisting their demands, the Tamil Nadu police say that these detainees cannot be allowed outside the high security camps and that they should be under observation, states the report.

Against this backdrop, Ramanan who faces charges for allegedly smuggling arms to Sri Lanka had attempted to commit suicide. His lawyer Rajiv Gandhi had said that after Ramanan’s earlier appeal for release had been rejected he had suffered mental distress and attempted suicide.

Lawyer Gandhi had added that the attempted suicide by Ramanan conveys the urgent need for the release of the 30 detainees including Ramanan from the Poonthamalli and Senkalpattu detention camps.