Rights activists join the race to play govt envoy to Veerappan

Human rights activists from Tamil Nadu Prof P. Kalyani and G. Sugumaran today told Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge that they wer...

Human rights activists from Tamil Nadu Prof P. Kalyani and G. Sugumaran today told Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge that they were ready to negotiate with Veerappan as official emissaries.

‘‘It is not enough for Karnataka alone to recognise us as official emissaries. Even Tamil Nadu should follow,’’ they said.

While Kharge assured them that the state government would decide soon, the duo charged the state security agencies with human rights violation against jailed Tamil nationalist leader Kolathur Mani.

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As functionaries of Federation for Peoples’ Rights, Kalyani and Sugumaran presented Kharge with a memorandum seeking a CBI probe into torture inflicted on Mani by the state STF.

‘‘During our discussion with Mani (in Bellary yesterday), we came to know he was slapped with five false cases, including a TADA case. Although he is upset, he is confident of being exonerated,’’ they said. Journalist Sivasubramanian and Muthukumar, who helped rescue Rajkumar, were also in jail under false cases, the memorandum alleged.