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Journalism of Courage
The Karnataka Cabinet today decided to order a judicial probe into the death of former minister and JD(U) leader H. Nagappa.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting today. Information Minister Kagodu Thimmappa told reporters here after the meeting that the probe would be held by a high court judge. The terms of reference for the probe will be framed shortly and it was for the high court Chief Justice to decide on whether the probe should be headed by a sitting or a retired judge, he said.
The decision to conduct a judicial probe comes a week ahead of the Legislature session which is slated to begin on December 23. Opposition parties and family members of Nagappa have been demanding a CBI probe into the matter. The demand had, however, been turned down.
Thimmappa said the government’s decision would not deter the Opposition from debating the Nagappa episode on the floor of the Legislature. The probe is aimed at finding out the truth in the wake of suspicions raised by political parties and the public, he said.
When pointed out that it was an unprecedented decision by the government to order a judicial probe into a case of ‘‘murder’’, he said: ‘‘It would find out the truth and there is no need for a CBI investigation’’.
Nagappa’s decomposed body was recovered from Chengadi forests on December 8 and the post-mortem report revealed that a high-velocity bullet had pierced through the chest of Nagappa who could have been killed a few days before the body was recovered. Nagappa had been abducted by forest brigand Veerappan from his Kamagere farmhouse on August 25.
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at one point appeared to be blaming each other for the JD(U) leader’s death. Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, responding to reports that the Tamil Nadu STF had killed Nagappa in an encounter, shot off a letter to her Karnataka counterpart S.M. Krishna saying it was the Karnataka STF which was involved in combing operations ‘‘just before the murder of Nagappa by Veerappan’’.
In the sixth cassette sent hours before the body was recovered, Veerappan had claimed that he and Nagappa were injured in an encounter with the Tamil Nadu STF, a claim that was quickly dismissed by Tamil Nadu. The Karnataka STF had recovered 29 empty fired cartridges and three spent ones near the spot where the body was found.
