BENGALURU: A civil and sessions court in Bengaluru ruled that the book “Veerappan’s Saga-Rise and Fall, Part-1” does not attract infringement of copyright as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments gave permission to journalist Nakkheeran Gopal, reporter Sivasubramaniam and others to enter the forest as emissaries to rescue Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar, who had been kidnapped by forest brigand Veerappan in 2000.
Koose Munisamy Veerappan was active for 36 years and had kidnapped major politicians for ransom. Veerappan abducted Dr Rajkumar and three of his relatives from a farmhouse at Dodda Gajanur in Sathyamangalam taluk of Erode District in Tamil Nadu on July 30, 2000.
Veerappan’s Saga-Rise and Fall, Part-1 is the English version of “Veerappan Valnthathum Veelnthathum” in Tamil, an eyewitness account published by P Sivasubramaniam in October 2020. Nakkheeran Gopal moved the city court, praying temporary injunction restraining P Sivasubramaniam and Siva Media from publishing and distributing the English version of the book which was supposed to be released on February 22, 2023. On hearing his suit a day before the release of the book, the court passed the interim ex-parte order of temporary injunction, restraining Sivasubramaniam from releasing the book.