Wednesday, May 18 2005 16:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Even as their Tamil Nadu counterparts were generously rewarded for valour in gunning down the notorious poacher Veerappan, STF men in Karnataka are not that lucky to share the glory even though six months have elapsed since the outlaw was killed.

Police personnel who served in STF, risking their lives while doing job in the nab Veerappan operations braving inclement weather and criticism following delay in achieving success, now are still groping in the dark about sharing Rs 50 crore reward that the outlaw carried on his head.

The Karnataka-Tamil Nadu Joint STF headed by IGP, K C Vijayakumar (Tamil Nadu) and Jyoti Prakash Mirjee (Karnataka) tasted success on November 18,2004 in gunning down Veerappan and his associates, who eluded the police dragnet for more than two decades.

Elated by the success, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, immediately announced cash awards and a house site to each of the personnel involved in STF operations and sooner felicitated her State's men.

Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, who responded quickly to the neighbouring State's gesture, assured to emulate it in rewarding its STF personnel, but it is yet to come.

Singh himself told in Bangalore that the Government had already held four meetings on distributing awards and was likely to make an announcement shortly in this regard.

Singh had also announced that each of the STF personnel will be given a house site of his choice at his home town as a gift besides the cash reward.

The question that haunts several STF personnel was that, does the Government require six-month-long time to decide on who gets what.

Hoping against hope that the Government would honour its promise, those who served in STF earlier, are now gearing up on a new assignment, to counter naxal menace.

Karnataka Government today (May 18, 2005) said it was drafting about 600 policemen in Malnad and border districts, which have witnessed a spurt in naxal activities.