As many as 83 Indians are being held in military detention camps in Oman for lack of proper documents, Kerala [Images] Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said on Monday.

The state government, with the help of Indian embassy in Oman, has taken steps for the release of the Keralites among those detained, he said.

The media has published the names of the detainees and their relatives have been asked to produce documents like nativity certificate, ration card and voter ID card to secure their release.

The embassy had informed the state government that any one of these documents was enough seek their release.

The district collectors had been instructed to forward the documents to the Non-Resident Keralites Department.

Achuthandnan said the state government did not have any reliable figures regarding the exact number of Keralites lodged in prisons in various Gulf countries.

However, the government had come to know through media reports and personal representations that some of them were imprisoned on flimsy grounds.