Awards catch up Bidari and team, 15 yrs on

BANGALORE: It was in October 2004 that forest brigand Veerappan was shot dead in an encounter by Tamil Nadu STF personnel. Seven years later, four officers, including former commander of STF Shankar Bidari, were conferred the President's Gold Medal for Gallantry.
Interestingly, the foursome -- Bidari, his bodyguards K K Vijaya Kumar, Konjalatta Ramananda and G K Dileep Kumar -- left the STF way back in 1996.The award came to them after 15 years.
Bidari, as DIG, had served the STF from 1992 to 1996 as commander, when Vijaya Kumar, Ramananda and Dileep Kumar worked closely with him. When Bidari took over as commander, Veerappan was commanding a gang of over 100 personnel. When Bidari left the operations, Veerappan was left with only four followers.
When the government offered him awards and monetary benefits, as assured, Bidari gave in writing that till such time that the entire operation was not completed and Veerappan killed, he would not receive any award or monetary prize. The operation was over in 2004 and STF personnel received monetary rewards.
However, the awards took seven more years. There were magisterial inquiries to clear the names of all the officers in the operation. Last year, the Tamil Nadu government completed the inquiry into Veerappan's killing.
When the state government recommended the names of the four officers, the selection committee raised questions about the delay in recommendations. The recommended personnel approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and by the time the judgment came in their favour, Independence Day was over. The same four were conferred the medal on the eve of Republic Day.