Tuesday, Sep 10, 2002
Tuesday, Sep 10, 2002 |
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Karnataka
By Alladi Jayasri
And its author, the then STF Superintendent of Police, K. Arkesh, was sent out unceremoniously, after having toiled at a thankless job for 18 months, studying the topography of Veerappan's hideouts, analysing the sociology of the local populace, and the routes and ambush points that the brigand could use. He developed training modules and orientation courses for STF men, anticipating every move of Veerappan and coming up with plans to counter them. Highly placed sources today told The Hindu that Mr. Arkesh, at present Commandant, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), will report to the Chief Secretary, A. Ravindra, on Tuesday, to take up an assignment with the STF. Mr. Arkesh, who returned to the CRPF after his stint in the STF ended in May 2000, took his platoon to the Western Frontier a few months ago. The Government has sought his services, as the kidnapping of the former Minister, H. Nagappa, who with H. Sudarshan, Chairman of the State Task Force on Health, had been identified in the report as potential hostages of Veerappan, has shown the chinks in the STF's armour. Moreover, no "negotiator'' has emerged to broker Mr. Nagappa's release. The CRPF has heeded to the State Government's request to "place Mr. Arkesh's services at its disposal.'' Sources said feelers from the Chief Minister's Office had been sent to Mr. Arkesh within a week of Mr. Nagappa's kidnapping. The request to the CRPF had gone from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) and not through the Home Department. It is not known if Mr. Arkesh will be given a free hand in implementing the recommendations of the status report. With the current STF chief, R.P. Sharma, out of the picture, it is expected that Mr. Arkesh will occupy the post vacated by him. Mr. Arkesh's earlier stint with the STF in the M.M. Hills began in November 1998. He submitted the 200-page status report to the then Director-General and Inspector-General of Police, C. Dinakar, on May 22, 2000. Mr. Rajkumar was kidnapped on July 31 that year. A month later, this is how Mr. Dinakar described the status report to The Hindu: "If you have a paper shredder, that is where the report belongs. It is nothing but a compilation of existing inputs, and the only work produced by Mr. Arkesh during his 18-month stint.'' As things turned out, the Rajkumar kidnap episode ended only when Veerappan willed it, and exactly as he had orchestrated the entire drama. Mr. Arkesh's report is replete with giveaways about Veerappan's post-kidnapping moves. The brigand never stays close to where the hostage is housed, ambushes only sitting targets, and is known famously for backing off when attacked. Memorably for the STFs of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu a few years ago when the brigand had taken a group of people from the latter, he abandoned the hostages and ran for his life when the two teams closed in on him in a joint operation. The return of Mr. Arkesh, sources feel, will be to the advantage of the STF, as the man who was largely left to his own devices in his earlier stint, made the most of adversity to come up with a plan B in case plan A failed, to deal more effectively with the recurring menace of Veerappan.
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