Kamagere villagers burn TN bus after Nagappa kidnapped

KAMAGERE, Kollegal taluk: Stray incidents of arson and stone-throwing were reported in and around Kamagere, a day after the kidnap of former minister H. Nagappa.
Villagers set ablaze a Tamil Nadu government bus and stoned the Chamarajnagar Deputy Commissioner Chandrashekaraiah’s car on Monday.
The latter reportedly lost his cool and shouted at the villagers.
Angry villagers retaliated and prevented police officials from entering the village. They blocked parts of Kollegal-Hanur road and Kollegal-Sathyamangalam road and did not allow vehicles to pass through.
Meanwhile, a total bandh was observed in Kollegal town in protest against Nagappa’s kidnapping. JD(U) workers led by Gundlupet MLA Mahadev Prasad and Santhemarahalli MLA A.R. Krishnamurthy took out a silent march in Kollegal and submitted a memorandum to the assistant commissioner, appealing to the government to ensure their leader is released.
Talking to reporters, the MLAs blamed the police and STF for the kidnap and said, “STF men have totally failed in their duty to check Veerappan’s activities.�
“If the STF officers had shown a little alertness, they would have succeeded in nabbing the brigand,� they said, wanting to know what the officers were doing when Veerappan roamed the vicinity for more than three hours after the incident.
“We are shocked over the attitude of government officials,� they said, citing the officers’ failure to visit the family and console them in their hour of crisis. “Not single senior officer visited Nagappa’s house till this morning,� they said, adding that STF adviser and retired DGP T. Srinivasulu, Chamarajnagar DC Chandrashekaraiah and IGP (Southern range) Umapathy had visited Kamagere.
Parimala, Nagappa’s wife, even suspected a political conspiracy in the kidnap, accusing second rung leaders of the JD(U) and also Minister of State for Agro Processing Raju Gowda.
Raju Gowda denied the charge. “Nagappa may be my political rival, but I do not have any animosity or personal grudge against him,� he said. “Do not mix politics with this incident, in this hour of crisis we have to try for his safe return.� The minister said he had spoken to CM Krishna and Home Minister Kharge.