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Veerappan returns, abducts former Karnataka minister

After a gap of two years, the bandit Veerappan has struck again, this time by abducting former Karnataka minister H Nagappa.

Nagappa was abducted at 2100 IST on Sunday from his native Kamagere village in Kollegal block of Chamarajanagar district. Nagappa has twice represented the Hanur assembly constituency, which falls in this district.

Police sources said Veerappan went to Nagappa's farmhouse late in the evening with his associates. Nagappa's gunman noticed some people in the backyard and reacted quickly, pushing him into a room and locking it.

But Veerappan and his men forced their way into the house by smashing the window grill, overpowered the gunman, shot open the lock and took Nagappa, the bodyguard, and one other person hostage. Nagappa's wife Parimala pleaded with the brigand to let him go, but to no avail.

Nagappa, minister for agricultural marketing in the previous Janata Dal government led by the late J H Patel, is an arch rival of Rajugowda, present MLA from Hanur. He has always accused Rajugowda of using Veerappan to canvass for him at the polls. In fact, people from Gopinatham, Veerappan's village, remember him canvassing during an election in the 1980s.

Interestingly, Rajugowda, who was inducted into the S M Krishna government a few months ago, has never spoken out against Veerappan, not even when Kannada film star Rajakumar was abducted. He has also said that resuming granite quarrying in the taluk is his priority.

Quarrying in Kollegal was banned following allegations that Veerappan had the support of quarry owners and used to get explosives from them. But Rajugowda pooh-poohs this claim, arguing that quarrying provides employment and contributes to the local economy.

Veerappan has been on the run ever since he had released Rajakumar from captivity. The special task forces of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had intensified their search for him and even recovered a considerable amount of cash, which had allegedly been paid as ransom for the film star.

Soon after news of Nagappa's abduction spread, people attacked the Hanur police station. Additional forces were rushed from Chamarajanagar to deal with the situation. A Tamil Nadu state transport bus coming towards Kollegal was also attacked, but no casualty was reported.

Incidentally, Rajakumar visited his ancestral house in Gajanur, Tamil Nadu, from where he was abducted on the night of July 31, 2000, on Sunday. He stayed there for the day and left for Mysore in the evening.

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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