Q1. When did you decide to fight for this cause?

I came to know that the Veerappan and his gang have abducted the Kannada Cinema Icon.  The whole of Karnataka was in turmoil.  The people who held Rajkumar in great respect were agitated.  There were protests and processions against the act of Veerappan almost in the whole of Karnataka.  The Government of Karnataka under the leadership of S.M. Krishna was put to a litmus test for the first time. I was watching what action would the Government take. The Government of Karnataka never really took any bold action.  Never sent the troops to catch Veerappan.  It was just impotent listening to the cassette sent by Veerappan through Mrs. Parvathamma Rajkumar to the C.M., and meekly surrendered.  The Government had neither any guts nor any will to crack down on the notorious smuggler.  The C.M. of Karnataka did not have the courage to take the action.  He was more interested in his chair.  He thought that if something happens to Rajkumar he might loose his Chief Ministership and behaved more like an opportunistic politician rather than a courageous statesman.

Rajkumar was abducted from his native place Gajanoor near Chamrajnagar but situated in Tamil Nadu.  The burden could have been passed on to Karunanidhi, as the brigand is Tamilian and abducted in Tamil Nadu.

Karunanidhi could have solved that as he is very close to Veerappan.  They are the two faces of the same coin.  Veerappan helps Karunanidhi by getting the votes of pancham gounders (or vanniyaars) that too against Jayalalitha, his archrival. Karunanidhi did not do any thing for reasons best known to him.

Veerappan through his cassettes had demanded for the release of TADA detenues, who were rotting in Mysore Central Jail and the TNLA detenues in Chennai Central Jail.  The C.M. of Tamil Nadu Karunanidhi induced S.M. Krishna to surrender.

The next day I heard over radio the message sent by S.M. Krishna the Hon’ble C.M. of Karnataka addressing Veerappan as “Veerappan avare!” (Like Shri Veerappan) and requesting him to release Rajkumar and three others, promising him that all his demands will be met immediately. Look at the fate of the Government!  The Government of Karnataka never cared for the sacrifices done by its own police, task force and forest officials who laid down their lives while on duty to nab Veerappan.

At that time it flashed to my mind that the Government may release all the culprits and withdraw the cases.  Even though I was not keeping well, I started consulting the legal emissaries. I contacted so many advocates.  I requested some of them to file a case on my behalf against the release.  Most of them refused, on the ground that the advocates of Mysore Bar Association are not to take up my case for filling objections.

Even those, one or two advocates who agreed initially to fight out the case refused giving the reason that they have been threatened.  This is the silliest thing that could have happened in the history of Mysore Bar Association.

Afterwards, I personally appeared before the Court and the Hon’ble Judge asked me about my lawyer to file Vakalath.  I gave the same reply.

I wanted to file my objections against the release but the Judge never accepted it and he wanted to release them without any trial.  Next day all these things appeared in the newspapers.  Immediately afterwards I sent a telegram to the Hon’ble Home Minister, Mallikarjuna Kharge requesting him not to release the culprits.  I spent 1000/- on the phonogram itself, but in vain.

During the regime of the ex. C.M. J.H. Patel who hails from the same district Shimoga as I do.  I had requested J.H. Patel then to appoint A.K. Joshi as the Special Public Prosecutor for which he rightly obliged.  I recommended A.K. Joshi’s name not because of any personal gain but because he is a son of a learned former Judge and well versed with criminal procedures and efficient and eminent advocate in Mysore City.

The Special Public Prosecutor should have argued for the prosecution against the accused but never did so.  He told that he has a Government Order to the effect that all the TADA accused are released.  I told straight on the face of Mr. Joshi that what he is doing is totally wrong and illegal.  But he gave no ears.  The case went on like this till August 19th.  Even the Hon’ble Judge passed an order for the release all the 51 TADA detenues.  The case has been prolonged for the past 8 years.  They should have conducted a speedy trial instead of barking that the detenues are rotting in the jail.  They knew that the accused might get punishment, for that they prolonged the case and it is duty and responsibility of the state.

The 19th of August was the Blackest Day in the history of Judiciary as the TADA Judge had erred in passing the Order for the release and it gave a fatal blow to the existence of Judiciary.

Suppose a Minister’s son was caught in a Criminal case and the public prosecutor may oblige the Minister.  But can the Judge acquit him or let off?  Is it not the duty of the Judge to try him in the court as per the Law of the Land?

It is fresh in my memory about more than a decade that the grand son of Former C.M. Kengal Hanumanthaiha was arrested and convicted in a criminal case.  Everybody boasted about the Judiciary of Karnataka at that time.

My son was an honest and able Police Officer.  He was working as S.I. (Sub Inspector) in Saraswathipuram Police Station (Mysore).  Earlier he had worked as S.I. in Lashkar Mohalla police station (also in Mysore).  He was transferred to M.M. Hills to nab Veerappan.  He was killed on 14 – 08 – 1992. He lost his life in an encounter with Veerappan along with Harikrishna, the S.P. and other Police Officers.  Many officers both from the Police and the Forest have laid down their lives for the noble cause sacrificed everything just to catch the notorious smuggler.  But the Government forgot all the sacrifices and meekly knelt before him.

I approached the High Court and contacted a famous advocate Mr. Subramanya Jois.  We had a discussion about this case and the learned advocate told me that this is the fittest case to file a Writ in the High Court.  I paid Rs. 5000 towards legal expenses and the advocate asked his junior Ashok to get all the papers ready to proceed.  He promised to file the Writ within a day.  Even after two days when I could not get any information about the case I tried to contact the learned advocate.  I wanted to contact him over phone.  I gave a lot of calls from morning till evening.  I called both his office and residence.  But I could never get a positive reply from the other end.  I could never contact him as he deliberately evaded for reasons best known to him.

One day I tried to contact him in the late hours, perhaps it was about 2 O’ clock in the night.  But I got a reply that nothing is known about his whereabouts.  Till today he has not given me a call.

On the 19th of August, I filed a P.I.L. (Public Interest Litigation) through fax to the Supreme Court late in the night, to be precise 1 O’ clock in the night, which was accepted the very next day.  Assuming that the Supreme Court may give some directions by fax, the authorities in Karnataka had even intentionally cut off the power supply to the court. Fortunately the Supreme Court had sent a wireless message to the D.G.P. of Karnataka ordering him not to release the accused and pass on this massage to the designated Principal Sessions Judge.

For all these I had to spend large amounts.  I sold my site worth about Rs. 5 lakhs for a meager sum of Rs.3 lakhs and also a wetland in Shimoga, which was my ancestral property.

I sent Mr. Umesh and his junior Manjunath, advocates to Delhi.  Mr. Manjunath knew an advocate by name Chava Badrinath Babu.  He is young, honest, sincere and devoted man.  I engaged him on the advice of Manjunath. The case proceeded like this for two months from September 1st to 31st of October.

Finally, I was successful as the APEX Court up held my P.I.L. and the petitions of the Government of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were dismissed. And the Hon’ble Court had passed strict orders not to release the TADA detenues and also commented adversely on the actions taken by both the Governments. The Hon’ble Court had also passed strictures on the Special TADA Court of Mysore for having passed an Order without giving proper attention and having done everything in a hurry with fear. The Court even chided the Governments of Karnataka and TN for not taking proper action against the brigand Veerappan and his gang for the last so many years and asked the Government of Karnataka particularly, if it cannot function properly the Government should quit and make way for the able administrators.
 

Q2. What was your feeling when you heard this judgment?

I felt very happy and thought that it is a victory for justice as my expectation of getting justice in the Supreme Court had materialized.

Q3. The public opinion is that Veerappan has grown a little out of proportion.  People also believe that the police and the politicians are responsible.  What is your opinion?

To tell you frankly, I retired from the service in 1980. At that time Veerappan was not at all heard of. The brigand was caught but set aside and let off after accepting heavy ransom in 1985. The man responsible for this was Mr. K.V.Ramamurthy who is still in service.  Till then Veerappan was an ordinary smuggler. He was smuggling sandalwood, ivory etc. He was also making money from the Granite quarry owners.

Veerappan got lot of encouragement from politicians. He could not have done all these things without the help of MLAs. Hanoor MLA Mr. Raju Gowda has given and still giving a lot of support to his illegal activities and Veerappan got a contact of other corrupt politicians from this Raju Gowda. The then  SP Somashekhar Reddy of Kollegal had also helped Veerappan in more than one occasion.

During the days of Ms. Jayalalitha, when she was the C.M. the brigand didn’t have much of the activities. Only after Karunanidhi came to the power he started his illegal activities all over again and even went to the extent of abduction. During the term of Jayalalitha, there was a strict vigilance and the officers were doing the duty to their best. So Veerappan shifted his venue to the forests of Karnataka where he had lot of support and co-operation from the corrupt politicians and police.

The STF constituted by the Government of TN is there only for the namesake without giving proper attention to nab Veerappan as per the orders of their bosses. That is why the BSF, which had come here, became a failure, as there was no co-operation and co-ordination among the different forces employed by the Governments of TN and Karnataka.

In 1993 the CM of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi held a press conference and when questioned by the press reporters he uttered that it is impossible to nab Veerappan as the forces are spending their time in boozing, eating and womanizing. Mr.Maramkal in Times of India reported this. I was shocked when I read it. I filed a case in the Mysore Court for defamation and the case has been posted for arguments. Karunanidhi had sent words through some police officers to me to withdraw the case, which I refused vehemently.

Mr. Nakkiran Gopalan is the close associate of both Veerappan and Karunanidhi. He is a conduit for both.

Mr. Shankar Bidri who was the STF Chief from 1993 to 1996 has done a lot of good work. On several occasions I had proposed the name of Mr.Sangliyana. Now they have appointed him as the Chief. Better late than never. But they should include Shankar Bidri who has lot of experience and who is well versed with the topography of forests and Mr.Arkesh who has also worked earlier as S.P, S.T.F. is also a very capable police officer to assist Sangliyana.
 
Q4.  When Rajkumar was abducted, you had to face all sorts of opposition from almost all the quarters.  Did you at any time thought that the people of Karnataka are against you?

When I filed a case in the Supreme Court after the abduction of Rajkumar I used to get threatening calls not only from Karnataka but also from all over the country from the fans of Rajkumar. But I never cared for such silly threats.

Q5.  It has been reported in the dailies that you have been threatened and some people belonging to your own religion threatened to go on hunger strike in front of your house.  Is it true?

A man by name S. Ramesh had given me a call that he is going to come to my house.  Prior to that it had appeared in press that many would stage a protest in front of my house.  When I received the call from the above said one I told him straight that there is no need to come. I don’t care for the protests.  But he told me that he is coming there only to seek my blessings, which I denied and told him “you need not come”.

One by name Shabir Ali had also thought of staging a protest.  It he had come he would have got the right treatment.  But he never came.

Q6.  Did the Karnataka or Tamil Nadu Governments pressurize you?

Both the Governments of TN and Karnataka tried to pressurize me sending words through some Senior Police Officers.  I don’t want to name them.  But it was in vain.

Q7.  Did you have any fear about Rajkumar Abhimani Sangha playing some mischief?  Do you have any fear of that sort now?

I don’t care for any Sangha or Organization trying to play any mischief.

Q8. What would you have done if Rajkumar had personally requested you to withdraw the case?

I would not have obliged him, as my protest was not against the release of Rajkumar.

Q9.  A lot of stories are coming out about Rajkumar’s abduction and safe release. What do you think?

I am not aware of that but I am happy like any other karnatakite for the safe release of Rajkumar. I am doubly happy, as this was possible because of me indirectly as an offshoot of the bangings of the Hon’ble Judges of the Apex Court.

Mr. Abdul Kareem is not fighting to take revenge but for the sake of justice and justice only. People should understand the heart of a father whose son has been killed by a notorious smuggler and should support at least through their words though not financially.

Even the Supreme Court has appreciated as an acknowledgement for the cause for which he is fighting. The Supreme Court observed:

“ Please tell Mr. Abdul Kareem that he has done a great service to the nation by filing a Writ petition against the miscarriage of Justice”.

The people who are in power who should have taken necessary steps and put an end to such atrocities may be laughing inside their heart of hearts thinking that they are on good platform. But nobody knows what happens to whom in future. As we know the church bells tolls. “To Whom the Bell Tolls it Tolls for Thee”.

When I left his house it flashed to my mind Shakespeare’s Verse in Julius Ceaser “The elements are so mixed in him that one day Nature might stand up and say to the world that this is a MAN”.
 

Here is a letter written by Pranati B Mehra (of Indian Express) to Abdul Kareem on 29th of September 2000.

Mr. Abdul Kareem

Sir,

I have been reading about your efforts to honour the memory of your son Shakeel Ahmed, who died in the line of duty while trying to track down Veerappan. Your decision to knock at the doors of the highest court in the country to stop the travesty being enacted in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has restored some sanity in public life.

A Local Lion’s Club here has felicitated me for what they think is courageous reporting. They have given me a trophy and a cash award of Rs. 11000. I am forwarding a cheque of Rs. 11000 towards the “Mohammad Shakeel Ahmed Policemen’s Welfare Fund”, which I am informed, has been started by you.

I will be richer if your litigation in the Supreme Court succeeds.

A line in acknowledgement would be appreciated.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

     Sd/-
Pranati B Mehra,
Assistant Editor,
The Indian Express,
Mumbai.

Tel: 4717658 / 45.
 

Details of the cheque:
Cheque no.  592500 dated 25th September 2000 drawn on State Bank of India, Pali Market, Bandra (West), Mumbai-400050.
 

The latest development: After the Supreme Court judgment a Special Judge is appointed to conduct the TADA cases. And the Special Public Prosecutor Mr. Joshi who was in charge of the case has submitted his resignation, owning responsibility on moral grounds (which I read in the newspapers). But in my view, the persons who should have resigned immediately after hearing the Supreme Court judgment and the banging are the CM of Karnataka, the Law Minister of Karnataka Chandre Gowda and Mallikarjuna Kharge, the Home Minister of Karnataka. They should have resigned by this time if they had a little bit of shame, dignity or responsibility.

They will never stop to do wrong things while in power. I give this as a caution to the citizens of Karnataka, if they have got any regards for Law and Justice they should never elect such irresponsible people who have scant respect for human values and bow down and surrender to criminals like the forest brigand Veerappan.

The electorate should never vote on the basis of caste, creed or religion. They should not elect even on party basis. Only such people who are capable of delivering goods sincerely and honestly without any prejudices such as caste, creed and party should be elected.

My last problem to be solved by the Government of Karnataka is to repay me back the heavy amount of nearly 6 lakhs, which I have spent towards the expenses for carrying on the case from 1st September to the date of the judgment by selling my site in Mysore City 3 lakhs, which would have costed 5 lakhs and by selling a piece of wet land recently for Rs. 130000 to clear the debts, if necessary I will produce the documents. This has happened to me only on account of the illegal judgment dated 19th August 2000 passed by the Principal District and Sessions Judge who was conducting the TADA case under pressure of the Government of Karnataka.