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SC adjourns Veerappan case to Oct 31

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

The Supreme Court Thursday adjourned the hearing into Dr Rajakumar kidnap case to October 31.

The hearing Thursday began an hour late as the judges and the staff were busy with the swearing-in ceremony of two new judges.

The case, filed by Abdul Karim, father of a cop killed by Veerappan, is being heard by Justice S P Bharucha, Justice D P Mahapatra and Justice Y K Sabbarwal.

Karim has petitioned the Supreme Court to prevent the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu government from freeing some associates of Veerappan in exchange of Dr Rajakumar's release.

Karnataka Law Minister C K Gaur Thursday filed an affidavit before the court which said the release of 51 prisoners detained under the Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act might help in securing Dr Rajakumar's freedom. He, however, added that he could not guarantee the same.

Dr Rajakumar and three others were kidnapped by Veerappan from the actor's farmhouse at Gajanur on the Karanataka-Tamil Nadu border on July 30. While one of them managed to escape a few days later, another was released by the forest brigand.

On Thursday, it was the turn of K S Parasaran, a former additional solicitor general of India and counsel for the Tamil Nadu government, to face the judges' fury.

The judges asked the counsel that if the state intelligence agencies had informed the state administration about Veerappan's plan to kidnap Dr Rajakumar, how come the star was not provided security cover.

The judges also pulled up the counsel for Karnataka government, Harish Salve, for advancing the theory that any action against Veerappan might lead to a law and order problem. "If you cannot control mob violence, then you should pack up and go," the judges said.

They made it clear to both the state governments that if anything happened to Dr Rajakumar, they would be held responsible.

The judges asked what kind of co-ordination the two governments have on the kidnapping? When Tamil Nadu government counsel said that the Karnataka government had failed to provide information regarding Dr Rajakumar's visit to his newly constructed house on the Tamil Nadu border just before the kidnapping, the court asked the counsel what prevented the TN government from posting two plainclothes policemen in front of Dr Rajakumar's Gajanur house.

"If you had done this, you would have got the information from your own sources and taken the necessary precautionary measures," the judges said.

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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