Bengaluru: A day after a court in Gobichettipalayam in Erode district of Tamil Nadu acquitted nine men accused of abducting late Kannada matinee icon Dr. Rajkumar - at the behest of late forest brigand Veerappan on July 30, 2000 - for want of evidence, Deccan Chronicle learnt that the State Intelligence had “alerted the superstar a year ahead, as far back as July 1999 about a possible security threat to his life from Veerappan,” said top official sources on condition of anonymity.
The then superintendent, Security, B.A. Mahesh had written a letter to the late Kannada thespian that he reportedly faced a security threat from Veerappan and had requested him to inform the police before leaving Bengaluru. “Unfortunately the police were not informed about his visit to his farmhouse in Gajanur in Talavadi taluk of Erode district,” said a top official source on condition of anonymity.
The police Intelligence wing had gathered credible information that Veerappan was on the look out for a high profile target in Karnataka to place his demand for the release of four of his associates in the deadly April 1993 Palar landmine blast case in which 22 police personnel and two forest guards were killed.
“Veerappan had toyed with the idea of having Dr. Rajkumar as hostage because of his tremendous popularity in Karnataka and had kept a close watch on his movements," the source said.
"The bandit had a vast network of informers in the villages across Tamil Nadu, where he was looked upon as Robin Hood. The villagers also feared him because he was ruthless with traitors,” said the source.
“On July 30, 2000 Veerappan along with his men barged into the farmhouse at around 9pm and at gunpoint abducted Dr R.ajkumar, his son in law Govindraju and his co-director Nagappa. He handed over a pre recorded cassette, in which he had taped his demands to Dr Rajkumar’s wife–late Parvathamma and warned her not to leave the farmhouse before dawn. She was nervous and petrified. She left along with the driver and reached Bengaluru early morning around 3am.
She went straight to then chief minister S.M. Krishna’s official residence and informed him about Dr. Rajkumar’s abduction. There was no time for her to lodge a complaint. A local person later had lodged a complaint and subsequently the police had recorded her statement,” narrated the officer. “Karnataka government was mainly concerned about the safety of Dr Rajkumar and this was the mandate of the State Special Task Force; to get him out of the forest safely. Within two-three days the CM was informed that Dr. Rajkumar was safe. He was convinced once Nakeeran Gopal sent his photographs in the forest, when he had gone to meet Veerappan,” added the officer.
The trial in the case lasted 18 years, and for the Tamil Nadu STF chief Vijaykumar, who had headed ‘Operation Cocoon’ in which Veerappan was killed in an encounter on October 14, 2004 the period is too long for “justice” to be served. “Earlier the hunt was for the criminal and later it was for justice. There is an urgent need for fast track courts for speedy and timely trials,” said the top cop. He added that the nine accused had however, served a long jail sentence pending trial.
