Is Veerappan within Army's reach?
Vijay Soni

The police forces of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and the Special Task Force (STF) have failed miserably to bring poacher-turned-kidnapper Veerappan to his knees. The question now being debated is – can the Army be pressed into action?

In fact, the idea to seek the Army's help was mooted way back in 2000 when Kannada film star, Rajkumar was kidnapped by the forest bandit. The idea, however, mulled over by the heads of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments was abandoned for obvious pitfalls.

"Army deployment was vehemently opposed by the then defence officials even before it could come up for discussion at the Central level", says an official in Home Ministry who refuses to be named. "The defence official had unanimously opposed it saying Army was meant to fight enemies and not a bandit", added the official.

Maj. Gen. MP Bhagat, Inspector General (Operation) National Security Guard (NSG) who had a long stint with the Indian Army feels that deployment of Army would set a bad precedence. "There is no reason why STF or the BSF cannot nail down Veerappan. They are efficient, motivated and task-oriented force", he says.

The combat experts often compare Veerappan's striking capabilities with that a cobra. "He lies low and hits as and when he gets an opportunity. But whatever the justification, I feel he is not such a force that Army needs to be pressed into service", says Bhagat...more