

BENGALURU: Deceased forest brigand Veerappan’s daughter Vidyarani met DCM D K Shivakumar at Wonderla resort at Bidadi near here when the latter went to meet Odisha Congress MLAs on Friday evening.
As she knew that Shivakumar was visiting the resort, Vidyarani was waiting there along with her supporters. As soon as he arrived, she went to him and sought his blessings by gifting a portrait of a deity, according to sources.
She tried to hold talks in detail about her intention to visit him. Shivakumar gestured to her that he will speak to her later and went to meet the Odisha MLAs, they added.
According to sources, she quit BJP and joined Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Tamil Nadu. She sought the support of Congress and Shivakumar in this regard.
Shivakumar had reportedly played a role in securing the release of Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar who was kidnapped by Veerappan during the tenure of S M Krishna in 2000.