Sangliana was never appointed STF chief

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, DEC. 3. The Additional Director-General of Police (KSRP), Mr. H.T.Sangliana, was never appointed chief of the Karnataka Special Task Force to nab the forest brigand, Veerappan, as announced by the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M.Krishna, in the Legislative Assembly on November 20.

Mr. Krishna had announced the appointment of Mr. Sangliana as the STF chief in the House during the course of a 13-page statement in Kannada on the 108-day abduction crisis and release of the Kannada thespian, Mr. Rajkumar.

However, a Standing Order (No. 962) passed by the Director- General and Inspector-General of Police, Mr. C.Dinakar, on the same day (November 20) points out that the ADGP (KSRP) along with the Inspector-General of Police (KSRP) would only "supervise and monitor the functioning of the STF deployed in the M.M.Hills and neighbouring areas for the anti-Veerappan operations and ensure that it functions effectively to achieve its objective."

The order states that the Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order), who was hitherto monitoring the functioning of the STF, "had not been able to continuously and closely supervise the functioning as his work requires his presence in other parts of the State." Thus, the supervisory level above the STF, was being re-organised with the induction of two senior-most officers from the KSRP.

The order also makes it amply clear that Mr. Sangliana as well as Mr. Shankar Bidri had been entrusted with the job because of the posts they held, that of the ADGP and the IGP of KSRP respectively, and that they had not selected on the basis of individual merit.

Further, Mr. Dinakar today reiterated, quoting the said order, that the STF commander had not been changed, and Mr. Harshavardhan Raju continued to be the chief of the Karnataka STF.

Secondly and significantly, there is no mention of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (KSRP), Mr. Kempaiah's name in the standing order relating to the re-organisation of officers at the supervisory level.

Mr. Dinakar said that reports in the section of the press about Mr. Kempaiah's involvement in and exclusion from the anti- Veerappan operations were "incorrect."

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