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Commando operation against
Veerappan under consideration

Now that Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajakumar is home, the central government, along with its Karnataka and Tamil Nadu counterparts, is seriously considering using an option it had been dithering over for some time - commando operation to nab sandalwood smuggler Veerappan.

Concerned over the prolonged hostage crisis, the Centre had at one stage contemplated launching a commando operation against Veerappan. However, the two state governments preferred negotiations, highly-placed sources said Friday.

The actor's family was also against such the move fearing for Dr Rajakumar's safety, the sources in Bangalore said.

The sources said the Centre had some time earlier discussed with the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments the option of a commando operation in the Satyamangalam forests to free the actor along with his nephew Nagesh.

''On November 13 (two days before the release of Dr Rajakumar), Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge had met Union Home Minister L K Advani at the Bangalore airport and discussed the hostage crisis,'' the sources said.

The pressure on the state governments to heed the Centre's suggestion intensified as the Supreme Court had in the rejected their plea to release Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act detenues as demanded by Veerappan.

The sources claimed that fear of sudden action against him made Veerappan release the Dr Rajakumar. ''A clever man that Veerappan is, he lost no time in realising that any further delay in releasing the actor could be counter-productive. In these days of modern technology, it would have been easy for the authorities to procure satellite imageries about his hideout in the forest and organise a rescue operation at an appropriate time,'' they said.

The sources further said the brigand and his gang members had already fled from the place where they had parted ways with the actor. ''Veerappan had even instructed Rajakumar to delay the announcement of his release to enable his gang to escape into the thick jungles,'' the sources said.

Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna, now camping in Delhi, might broach the subject of flushing out the brigand with the Centre. He was likely to discuss the matter with his Tamil Nadu counterpart M Karunanidhi 'at the earliest available opportunity' and both would approach the Centre after coming to a conclusion on the issue.

A top police official said if the two state governments did not come out with a well-thought off plan to end the menace once and for all, having joined hands with Tamil militants, the brigand would be difficult to contain henceforth.

UNI

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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