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The Rediff Special/H T Sangliana

Tough cop put on Veerappan's trail

M D Riti in Bangalore

When his wife borrowed his office car to buy vegetables, he booked a case against her. When the chief minister's car committed a traffic violation, he lost no time in seizing it. Meet H T Sangliana, the tough cop who has been appointed head of the Special Task Force operations in Karnataka.

The STF was constituted to nab sandalwood smuggler Veerappan eight years back.

A native of Mizoram, Sangliana is at present an Additional Director General of Police of the Karnataka State Reserve Police in Bangalore. He is already at the Male Mahadeshwara Hills where Veerappan operates.

The two men who worked under him in the KSRP these past few months, Inspector General Shankar Bidri and Deputy Inspector General Kempaiah, should be joining him shortly there.

Sangliana belongs to the 1967 batch of the Indian Police Service. He began his career as the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Sagar in Shimoga district in Karnataka and went on to become the SP of Shimoga.

He first shot to fame in 1978 when Indira Gandhi contested the Lok Sabha elections from Chikmagalur where he was the SP at that time.

Later, he did a memorable stint as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) in Bangalore. He hit the limelight for eliminating the menace of illegal parking and all the major traffic problems of a crowded city ruthlessly, without bowing to the demands of interfering politicians.

He was sent to Manipur and Nagaland for six years on special deputation as divisional organiser of the Special Services Bureau, returning to Karnataka in 1993.

He was involved in the solving of many sensational murder cases like the Jyoti murder case and the Shakereh Khaleeli murder case in Bangalore.

During his stint as Special Police Commissioner of Bangalore, when P Kodandaramiah, now a Member of Parliament, was police commissioner, he motivated people to form vigilance squads to check neighbourhood crime.

Sangliana is known to be courageous man, with unbeatable panache and bravado.

There has never been any allegation of wrongdoing against him. His dealings with people, on both sides of the law, have always been completely transparent. If his superiors have ever had a grouse against him, it is about his love for showmanship.

Sangliana is on good terms with the media and has always been quick to share the results of his investigations with mediapersons.

His real-life flamboyance inspired the Kannada film industry to make two films on him.

"My family and I saw the films and enjoyed them thoroughly," says the tough cop. "We had a hearty laugh at them. They were full of masala."

Sangliana is one man who does not fear anyone, or the repercussions (on himself) as a consequence of his actions. One can well visualise him riding off into the jungles, Kempaiah and Bidri in tow, to ferret out Veerappan from his hideout in the forest and bring him to justice.

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