In the first tangible fall-out of talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the Union home ministry has cleared for release a list of more than 50 people arrested in Jammu and Kashmir for allegedly acting as overground workers for militant groups.
The list has been cleared by various security agencies and handed back to the home ministry, which would clear the formalities for release of these people by the state government later this week, informed sources said, on Tuesday night.
The list of over 50 people who have been cleared for release from prisons are mainly those who were not involved in any henious crime.
Immediately after the meeting between Dr Singh and the Hurriyat Conference, the Union home ministry had initiated the process of reviewing all cases of those detained under Public Safety Act and the now-defunct Prevention Of Terrorism Act in Jammu and Kashmir.
The ministry, accordingly, advised the state government to examine the cases and make its recommendations at the earliest for consideration of a joint screening committee.
Following this, the state government submitted a list of more than 400 people to be released.