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NEWSNOTES
 With
J. Jayalalitha back in power, Walter Dawaram returns to head the STF to
catch the bandit Veerappan.
Q. Are you happy to head the Special Task
Force (STF) again?
A. I am thrilled. I have been waiting
for five years to get back to the job.
Q. What went wrong in the earlier operations
and how will your strategy be different this time?
A. In the past five years, there was
no political will to catch Veerappan. As against 28 encounters with his
gang during my tenure, the past five years didn't see a single encounter.
I will select about 250 volunteers from various police forces for the
operation. There is a bandit hiding in the forest. You just have to enter
the forest and catch him.
Q. What is your deadline?
A. The government has posted me for one
year or till the time he is caught, whichever is earlier. No deadline
can be set now.
Q. Some people see a political tinge in your
appointment as STF chief.
A. This is not an ornamental post for
a retired person. This is a full-time field job. So where is the question
of a political tinge?
Q. Will the change of government in Chennai
make any difference to the operation to catch Veerappan?
A. Definitely. There is a political will
now.
-Arun Ram
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