Centre asks Karnataka to induct BSF to tackle Veerappan

The developments have left Karnataka sour and the latter has told the Centre that only NSG is acceptable to the State, and it does not require the services of the BSF jawans in view of the bitter experiences of the past. The BSF men, deployed for the task in 1993-94, returned in batches after a stay of between six and nine months after they failed to catch Veerappan.

The BSF has been trained only to man the country’s borders, and not to fight a dreaded gang like Veerappan’s in the hilly regions. In his meeting with Karnataka’s officials, Union Home Department’s special secretary M B Kaushal is said to have conveyed that NSG commandos were preoccupied, and could not be spared.

Earlier soon after Dr Raj Kumar’s abduction crisis broke out, NSG IG (Operations) Maj Gen Hoshiar Singh had agreed to send 650 commandos following Karnataka’s request. Now, the Home Ministry is learnt to have refused to honour its words.

In a crucial meeting at Chennai on Saturday, Tamil Nadu Home Secretary Shantha Sheela Nair, DGP R Rajagopalan, Karnataka Home Secretary M B Prakash and DGP C Dinakar, thrashed out their requirement with the Centre, and signed official proceedings. The TN Government will forward it to the Centre on Monday.

Meanwhile, Union Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain and Union Home Secretary Kamal Pandey on Friday conveyed to the Karnataka officials that the problem will be treated only as a State problem. Further, they have indicated that Tamil Nadu will lead the operations, thereby creating fresh hurdles before Karnataka.

In their discussions, Karnataka’ officials said that Veerappan had grown into a national problem in strength in the `dreaded’ company of extremist outfits like Tamil Nadu Retrieval Force (TNRF) and Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA).

The concept of greater Tamil Nadu including northern parts of Sri Lanka and border areas of Karnataka showed that a spark of secessionist tendency was waiting to explode in a conflagration in the hilly region. More or less this was how secessionist forces were born in Punjab, Kashmir and north-eastern parts of the country besides in Sri Lanka, DGP Dinakar is said to have highlighted in the meetings.

Besides, so long as the nagging menace was treated as a State problem, the States have to approach the Centre off and on even for any sundry assistance. If treated as national problem, the Government of India will be directly involved in the operations with its aerial reconnaissance.

Even as Prime Minister A B Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani have gone on record offering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu any kind of assistance in their operations against the bandit, the Centre is said to be studying the political fallout of its actions. This is because the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu is a NDA partner, and the Centre is said to be reluctant to jump guns in view of the impending Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK regime too has been guarded in its comments on Veerappan operations in view of the bandit’s activities having assumed the proportions of a Tamil nationalist movement.