Krishna rules out use of Army to rescue Veerappan

Krishna rules out use of Army to rescue Veerappan
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

HYDERABAD, SEPT 13: Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of utilising armed forces to secure the release of film actor Rajkumar from forest brigand Veerappan.

Speaking to mediapersons after delivering the 16th Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel memorial lecture at the National Police Academy here, Krishna said that there were no further developments in the efforts to get Rajkumar released.

"There is also no change in the strategy that had been chalked out in consultation with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Karunanidhi. Both the governments came to the conclusion to go ahead with the same strategy. We don't think it is prudent to change the strategy at this juncture," he explained.

Asked for his comments on the suggestion made by some Central ministers to press forces like BSF and ITBF to liberate the actor, Krishna said: "Bravado is easily said and done. There is lot of difference between theoretical solutions and practical solutions. We are working out practical solutions."

Krishna said that Veerappan has agreed to compromise on some of his demands while others were under consideration and recalled the decisions taken earlier for the release of Rubia (former Union Home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed's daughter and passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane.

Asked whether he was facing any pressure from Rajkumar's fans, he said: "They are worried about the release of the film actor while I am worried about his (Rajkumar's) safety.

Talking about progress in the Information Technology, Krishna said that both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were making efforts in the right direction to promote IT. There were many areas in which both have to learn and complement each other.

On the investment side, the Karnataka Chief Minister disclosed that General Electricals was setting up a research and development institute at White Field near Bangalore, the largest one outside United States. About 800 software scientists would be inducted into the project by December and 2,000 more next year, Krishna said.