STF chief shifted to TN sports body

According to sources in the Tamil Nadu Police, the order removing Dawaram from the STF was issued on Friday.

However, Dawaram has been provided with another stint in government service post super-annuation and appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Sports Authority of Tamil Nadu since April 1.

The move comes a month before his STF assignment was to come to an end in May this year. Dawaram served as joint chief of STF for nearly two years on a super-annuation assignment given to him after J. Jayalalithaa took over as Chief Minister after her party won the 2001 May Assembly polls. His appointment came with a pay and perks of over Rs 3 lakh per annum.

When Dawaram took over, he had vowed to nab Veerappan within a year, but even after two years, nothing much had been achieved in the operations. In fact, while Dawaram was heading the joint STF in his latest stint, Veerappan cocked a snook at the STF operation by kidnapping former Karnataka minister Nagappa in 2002. Later, Nagappa was found dead with bullet injuries in Karnataka forests by STF men. The mystery surrounding Nagappa’s death is yet to be unravelled.

However, sources said the order shifting Dawaram had nothing to do with the failure to complete the task given to him. It was mainly due to health reasons that he moved out, they said, adding that he suffered from heart ailments and underwent angioplasty recently.