Call to negotiate surrender of Veerappan

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC. 4. The Confederation of Human Rights Organisations has urged the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to exercise the option of making the sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan, surrender rather than reactivate the Special Task Force to nab him.

Addressing a press conference here today, the CHRO office- bearers, Mr. Mathews Philip and Mr. Mukundan C. Menon, said that Veerappan had expressed the wish to surrender many times in the past. In such a situation, the motive behind deputing the STF could be a ploy by corrupt politicians who wanted him to be eliminated.

The CHRO leaders said that Veerappan had been able to conduct his sandalwood and ivory smuggling operations with the abetment and connivance of politicians. If Veerappan was produced for trial before the courts of law after either his surrender or arrest, the secrets of these corrupt politicians were likely to be exposed.

They said that if the criminals of the Chambal valley in North India could be made to surrender, there was no reason why the same should not be tried out in Veerappan's case.

The CHRO leaders also criticised the failure of the National Human Rights Commission to intervene in the Supreme Court on behalf of the 51 TADA detenus who were languishing in jail in Mysore for the past several years.

They pointed out that the NHRC had powers to legally intervene under Sec.12(b) of the Protection of Human Rights Act. The NHRC was authorised to intervene in any proceedings involving any violation of human rights pending before a court with the approval of that court.

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