The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday sanctioned Rs. 9.5 lakh as aid towards filing an appeal on behalf of three construction workers from the State convicted of murder in Qatar.
While Alagappa Subramaniam and Chelladurai Perumal have been sentenced to death another accused Sivakumar Arasan was awarded life term on May 30 in Qatar in connection with an alleged case of murder. They have been incarcerated since February 2012; the deadline for them to file an appeal expires on July 30.
Perumal’s wife C. Rajammal had petitioned the Chief Minister on Tuesday, asking for financial help to meet the legal expenses.
Suresh Kumar, a lawyer from Nagercoil, had met Subramaniam, Perumal as well as Indian embassy officials in Qatar recently. “The Indian embassy in Qatar had suggested that the Tamil Nadu government pay 50,000 Qatari riyal to share the cost of hiring lawyers,” he said.
An official release said acting on the plea of Rajammal, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa sanctioned the money, which would be transferred to the Indian embassy in Qatar.
Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj had tweeted on Monday saying that her colleague