Ex-blast case convicts seek govt help

Citing 8220;abject poverty8221;,a group of 19 convicts in the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blast cases who have been released on completion of their sentence,on Monday sought the help of the government to provide them houses. In a memorandum to District Collector V Palanikumar,the 19 claimed they had to spend 10 years in jail for false cases.

Those exonerated by the special court were finding it difficult to get a permanent job to support the families,who were in abject poverty for the last 10 years,the memorandum said. Moreover,people were not willing to give houses on rent to them. Hence,the government should immediately take steps and allot house sites to these victims,the memorandum said. The blasts,which coincided with the campaign visit of BJP leader L K Advani for the Lok Sabha polls in February,1998,claimed over 50 lives and left more than 200 injured.