Emissaries who negotiated with Veerappan cheer verdict

From being accused in one of the sensational kidnap cases, the nine persons have turned into victims of police harassment after they were acquitted in Rajkumar kidnap case for want of evidence.

Welcoming the judgment, Tamil Nationalist leader Pazha Nedumaran said, “After 18 years since the kidnap, the court has said there is no proof against the nine accused. This clearly indicates that charges against the nine persons were fabricated.’’

“Who is responsible for the trouble they had suffered. They have been in jail for so many years. The government should give compensation for years of trauma,’’ he said. Nedumaran was sent as chief emissary by the Tamil Nadu government to negotiate with Veerappan and release Rajkumar.

Two other emissaries who accompanied Nedumaran – founder of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam Kolathur Mani and Nakkheeran magazine editor Nakkheeran Gopal – also said that the acquittal proved that the case was foisted against the nine.

“This is an example of how implicating innocent people would end up in failure of the case. People totally unrelated to the incident were included as accused,’’ he said.

Gopal said the case was politically motivated. Gopal who was also cited as an accused initially, said the taint has been removed by the court. “All credit goes to defence counsel B Mohan,’’ he said. Recalling the incident, Gopal said when he was approached to visit Veerappan as an emissary, he refused as it was a highly sensitive case involving inter-state relationship and a huge mission.

“I was arrested soon after the AIADMK came to power in connection with the case. So right from the beginning, the case was politicized to settle scores with rivals,’’ he said.

The three held multiple rounds of negotiations with Veerappan to get Rajkumar released. While officials in the special task force said they had no role whatsoever in the abduction case, CB–CID sleuths who probed the case were tightlipped.


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