Bangalore: About 2,000 policemen under the Special Task Force (STF) of Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu are presently engaged in combing operations in jungles to hunt down
forest brigand Veerappan, as the two states on December 10 renewed their
determination to catch the brigand dead or alive.
At a high-level meeting at Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu, chief of STF operations W I
Dawaram, security adviser to Karnataka government T Srinivasulu and top STF officers
discussed the strategy on the all-out offensive, official sources said.
It comes a day after Karnataka government declared its determination to eliminate
the Veerappan menace once and for all, galvanising the state, Tamil Nadu and Kerala
for a concerted action in co-ordination with the Centre.
The public outcry against the bandit is running high in Karnataka in the wake of
Janata Dal – United (JD-U) leader H Nagappa having been killed while in the custody
of Veerappan, ending a prolonged hostage drama.
Meanwhile, the rejection of state funeral for Nagappa by his family, who had knocked
every door including meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Union Home
Minister L K Advani and even Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee seeking help in
securing the safe release of the former minister, has embarrassed the S M Krishna
government.
Opposition parties in the state, who have blamed the Congress government for the
tragic end to the hostage crisis, are busy trying to put the S M Krishna government
on the mat, an exercise sure to gather momentum in the coming days.
But Krishna has gone on the offensive, asking the Opposition parties to explain why
they put pressure on the government to stop STF operations during the hostage drama.
PTI
