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Karnataka brings in tough cops to bolster STF operations

M D Riti in Bangalore

The Karnataka government is pulling out all stops by calling upon its best policemen to catch forest brigand Veerappan and rescue his hostage, former state minister H Nagappa.

Assistant Commissioner of Police G A Bawa, Joint Commissioner Jyothiprakash Mirji, Inspectors B B Ashok Kumar and Pradeep Kumar have joined the Special Task Force operations in Kollegal and are led by the Kempaiah, the cop reputed to be the toughest of the lot.

Bawa has worked for two years in the Kollegal area under the then STF chief Shankar Mahadev Bidri several years ago. Inspector Kumar too was there for many months, especially during the period when Veerappan's brother Arjunan was arrested and kept in police custody in Karnataka.

Arjunan was to be produced before the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (prevention) Act court in Mysore for a final time and returned to Tamil Nadu, but when the police bus in which he was travelling arrived at the court, Arjunan was found dead in it.

The police version that he committed suicide was never quite accepted by Veerappan.

Kumar and Bawa are also both renowned 'rowdy hunters' of Bangalore. More than one rowdy, usually trying to escape or resist arrest, has tasted the ire of the two cops.

The Karnataka police have also borrowed an Indian Air Force helicopter to comb the Sathymangalam forest range.

But Bangalore Police Commissioner H T Sangliani sounded a note of caution. "You can't see much from a helicopter," he said, culling from his experience of the many aerial surveys undertaken as the head of the Karnataka STF many months ago.

"I spent hours surveying the Satyamangalam forest from a helicopter," he said. "But I could never spot any signs of Veerappan. We could not even detect signs of Veerappan's habitation in any particular spots, or make out whether he had passed along on any routes."

H Nagappa Abduction: Complete coverage
The Abduction of Dr Rajakumar
The Hunt for Veerappan

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