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Dr Rajakumar in no mood to
talk about his abduction

M D Riti in Bangalore

"Why do you want to revoke his memories of those dark days?" asks Parvathamma, wife of Kannada film icon Dr Rajakumar. "My husband does not want to talk about his days in Veerappan's custody just now. The past is behind us, we are living in peace now."

He may not want to talk about it, but former minister H Nagappa's abduction by the forest brigand on Sunday night must have brought memories flooding back. The memories of 109 days spent in dense Satyamangalam forests, of being on the move almost every 24 hours, mostly on foot.

Dr Rajakumar and his wife had been to their family home at Gajanur, from where the actor was kidnapped two years back, just 24 hours before Veerappan abducted Nagappa in neighbouring Chamarajnagar district.

Dr Rajakaumr had been wanting to visit Gajanur for over a year now, but was not allowed to so by his family. Parvathamma, however, used to visit the village often.

On Saturday, however, he prevailed upon them. He was, in any case, scheduled to visit Chamarajnagar for a film jubilee celebration on Sunday. Rajakumar's youngest son Puneet's film Appu had completed 100 days in that district.

"Appaji is fine," Puneet had told this correspondent the day before Rajakumar visited Gajanur. "He wants to go back and offer prayers at all the temples in that area, which he is very fond of."

Rajakumar visited three temples in the area, including the famous Beereshwara temple, which featured in his film Kaviratna Kalidasa.

He wanted to spend the night at his farmhouse in Gajanur, but officers of the Special Task Force advised him against it.

He was welcomed into the house with a traditional aarthi by family members. He walked around the place, noticing that some tiles had been replaced since his abduction.

Security was tight. Only close family and friends were permitted by the police to enter the farmhouse.

The cine star went back to Mysore for the night.

H Nagappa Abduction: The Complete coverage

The Abduction of Dr Rajakumar
The Hunt for Veerappan

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