COVER STORY

A festival in Chennai

T.S. SUBRAMANIAN

R. RAGU

STF commandos line up to receive awards from Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.

THE Tamil Nadu government organised a big function in Chennai on October 30 to celebrate the killing of Veerappan and his gang. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa honoured the 752 Tamil Nadu Special Task Force personnel for their "wondrous achievement". She presented each of them with a cheque for Rs.3 lakhs. Earlier she had promised each of them a one-step promotion and a house site at the place of their choice. Enhanced cash awards were given to the families of the State Forest Department staff killed by Veerappan. Jayalalithaa presented gold medals to former STF chiefs W.I. Dawaram and R. Natraj (now Chennai Police Commissioner), STF chief and Additional Director-General of Police K. Vijay Kumar, STF Superintendent of Police N.K. Senthamaraikannan, Deputy Inspector-General Sanjay Arora (who was earlier in the STF), Sub-Inspector Vellaidurai, driver Saravanan and other STF personnel. Personnel who were injured in encounters with Veerappan received silver medals.

The function went on for nearly three hours, with the Chief Minister personally presenting the awards to all the 752 STF personnel who received them in 10 batches. Fifty-one State Forest Department staff and former STF personnel received medals from top police officers.

The medal-giving ceremony was interspersed with dances and skits by the STF personnel. The families of the STF personnel were present at the stadium. People cheered as a commentator praised the Chief Minister's "unshakeable faith in the STF, and the faith that the STF itself had in its `general' [Vijay Kumar]". He ended the commentary by saying, "We salute the Tamil Nadu Police."

Jayalalithaa said the news of Veerappan's killing conveyed to her by Vijay Kumar over telephone was the best news she had heard since she assumed office. Lauding the efforts of the STF, she said a 20-year hunt had ended in 20 minutes. She praised Vijay Kumar's efforts as a "tremendous achievement that would forever remain in history". Jayalalithaa said it was she who motivated the STF after she came back to power in 2001. Between 1993 and 1996 (during her earlier tenure), there were 28 encounters between the STF and Veerappan, she claimed. The STF's activities were, however, "bottled up", she alleged, after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam headed by M. Karunanidhi, returned to power in 1996.

She announced that a memorial would be constructed on the premises of the Tamil Nadu Police Academy to honour the STF men who sacrificed their lives. About Rs.50 crores had been spent on the STF right from its inception, she said.

In his thanksgiving speech, Vijay Kumar said the encouragement given by the Chief Minister was an important factor that helped in the success of Operation Cocoon. He praised his predecessors Dawaram and Sanjay Arora for their relentless efforts to catch Veerappan; Natraj for "the foundation he laid" that led to this present victory; and Senthamaraikannan, Tamilselvan, Mohan Nawaz, Vellaidurai and others for their contributions. He revealed that the STF men were trained to react fast, that is fire within 60 seconds.

ACROSS the political spectrum, party leaders paid tributes to the STF. Karunanidhi appreciated the joint operations of the STFs of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. "If Veerappan had surrendered as he had initially agreed to when the DMK was in power [from 1996 to 2001], he need not have met this end," he said. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Vaiko said that although contradictory details were available about how Veerappan was killed, there was a feeling of relief. Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union Minister S. Thirunavukkarasar said the Tamil Nadu STF held its head high now. Congress legislator S.R. Balasubramaniam said it was only proper that the brigand met such an end. In separate statements, both R. Nallakannu and N. Varadarajan, secretaries of State units of the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) respectively, congratulated the STFs on ending Veerappan's atrocities. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy wanted a high-level commission of inquiry to be appointed to probe the wealth accumulated by Veerappan and those who had helped him to dodge the law.

Human rights activists from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, after a two-day fact-finding mission, described the killing as "extra-judicial". The killing of Veerappan went against the Constitution, which barred a State from taking the life of an individual without committing him/her to the court of law. Prof. Seshaiah, general secretary, Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee, demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the killing.

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