Karnataka, TN team up to tackle elusive bandit

Kharge revealed neither had Veerappan asked for amnesty after he abducted Dr Rajkumar nor had the Karnataka government asked him to surrender at any point of time.“He is already at the fag end of his life and he should face the law,” he said.

UNI adds that the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments have formulated a new joint strategy to nab Veerappan. Talking to newspersons after discussions with his Karnataka counterpart C. Dinakar, Tamil Nadu Director General of Police R. Rajagopalan underlined the government’s resolve to capture the forest outlaw. He, however, refused to spell out the details of the strategy to be undertaken for the same.

“In the light of recent experiences, we found it necessary to re-orient our strategy and develop a new one, said Dinakar, adding that keeping in view the requirements, the two governments have approached the Centre for logistic support, commandos and sophisticated equipment.

Replying to a question, he said the operations were already on and the “inputs” being provided by the Centre would be used in due course. “There will be a lot of back-up support from the Centre”, he added.

According to the UNI, the two DGPs chalked out the new strategy at a high-level meeting attended by Tamil Nadu home secretary Shantha Sheela Nair, her Karnataka counterpart Prakash and Tamil Nadu additional DGP (special operations) A.X. Alexander.

In reply to a query, Dinakar said the joint operation would be led by Tamil Nadu Inspector General of Police C. Balachandran, who would be assisted by Karnataka DIG Harshavaradane Raju.

“The government may be relieved but not relaxed after the release of Dr Rajkumar. Our real job has started now and we will waste no time in launching the operations. STF Chief H T Sangliana is already camping at Dimbam and the Chief Minister and I are soon leaving for Delhi to seek the Centre’s support,” Kharge told The Indian Express.

On the STF operations, Kharge said that both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments favoured the Centre’s intervention. “It was not that the previous governments did not have the will to nab Veerappan. Since Veerappan had been operating in two states, it worked out to his advantage,” Kharge said, adding that this time the STFs of the two states would not face any jurisdictional problems as the operations would be coordinated by the Centre. “We have drafted the best and most efficient officers to coordinate the operations and with their experience, the operation will turn out to be a success,” the Home Minister maintained.