Bangalore: Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge on September 7 dismissed
as "rumours" reports that forest brigand Veerappan might have released Janata Dal-
United (JD-U) leader H Nagappa from his captivity following the intensified Special
Task Force (STF) operations to hunt him.
"I have also heard such rumours. There is no information on that," Kharge told
reporters, when asked about reports that being surrounded by the special task force
(STF) men, the brigand might have freed Nagappa, whom he is holding hostage for the
last two weeks.
Asked if the STF had closed in on Veerappan's hideout, Kharge said there was "no
definite" information about it. The STF, he said, were continuing their operations.
He declined to comment on reports that Parimala, wife of Nagappa, was staging a
dharna to demand stopping of the STF operations on the ground that it might endanger
her husband's life.
PTI
