20/08/2020
Part 1 LTTE Drama in real life: Shivarasan Subha caught: warning, very long story.
It was my routine to call all the police control room, District control room and few police stations in the early mornings as soon as I reached office, I use to reach office as early as 8am. It was a long
practice since I joined the news photography from 1982 till date. On 19th August 1991, day surprisingly I didn't get any positive answers from the other side, senior officials are not available and at most of the police station staffs present in the stations refused to talk. This created some doubt in me that some thing major might have happened and they were instructed to divulge to the press. After wasting several calls, I called up a photographer of an evening news paper Baburaj of the Kannada evening news paper, We started a goose chase on a scooter.
As we passed few police stations gathered information that some thing big had happened and all officials rushed there last night itself on south direction. That's enough for us to select the direction to move. We start driving towards Kanakapura road.
As we are driving fast on Kanakapura road we saw one ambulance over took us and little later an another. That's it, I said to my friend 'lets follow the ambulance'. At last it took a diversion at the main road and led into a katcha road and we followed. Bingo, it was like an English movie scene, police and polices every where. We know that we
had reached the right spot but don't know what's happening.
After talking carefully without revealing our innocence came to know that all the police men are surrounded a house at Konanakunte and hoping that they had cornered Shivarasan the master mind behind Rajive Gandhi killing. Why should they believe that one eye jack Shivarasan, Shuba and their team are here?
After talking to the officials and locals we got the bits and pieces of stories. Police intelligence who had the address of the agent who got rented housed for LTTE men at Muthatti and other places trapped agent and they were almost close catching shivarasan but he changed the house, later they got the clue that he shifted to Kanananakunte.
Without delay they cornered the entire area previous night and did the wait and watch. Early in the morning an auto riksa came to the house but hurriedly left. With the help of locals they stopped the auto and took the inmate and driver to custody well outside area without creating any suspicion to the in mates. Some believed to swallow the
poisoness cyanide capsule and now admitted in the hospital. Why they
are not acting? Why they still waiting? I asked a police officials. We are not hundred percent sure its shivarasan and his gang and can't act without higher up order.
I could see police man casually walk around the house, claiming up the compound to get up to the terrace of the house, which made me think that it may be a wild goose chase. As we are the first one to reach I clicked away the exterior of the house, police claiming up and down the house with arms, taking position around the house. But don't want to exhaust roles, so I settled. The other photographer Baburaj who waited till
noon left for office with him I passed my negative role to be handed over to my darkroom assistant Manjunath and settled there.
As I was waiting boringly with out any action for long, I even slanted
over the compound wall of the house and noticed the window opened a
little and close. For me it looked like some one was peeping out. I immediately called the police official standing near by and told him that I saw some one opened and closed the window. The official laughed
and said my men too said the same its "Brammhe" (illusion). He said "see it's going to be a waste, no one will there inside.
I don't want to leave the spot, if they are in and if there is an action I want to
be the only man to get the pictures. I skip my lunch too. Time passed, I starved but got some water from the police official standing near by.
News started spreading and photographers from rival papers started arriving one by one in the evening. I could see many reporters around; two of my reporting colleagues arrived too. One came to me (I think it's Nagaraj BS) and I briefed him what happened from morning. As we were conversing, sun started setting and it's about to get darker I saw a mother and her teen age daughter crossing the foot route just before the house which is the focus of
interest of everyone. I told my reporter, how careless they are, suppose there is really LTTE men inside and if they take them as
hostage what is the plight of the police! I had not completed the sentence, we could here firing from the house and soon after police seen firing back. Gun shot from the house didn't created any fear in me because the shot I hear was sounded like Dipawali small crackers but not like a filmy "Dusheem, Dusheem" one which we use to see often and belive.
As police men taking position behind a compound nearby, few took the
near by roof tops, a half finished house come handy for the armed police man to hide and shoot back. Things changed within no time, there is drama in real life, could see people running for shelter, police started announcing in the public system to switch off lights from the houses, cleared every one around the house from where
the shooting took place. I was thrilled because I might get some picture for my news paper but the tragedy is light has fallen down and I want the action to happen in reachable distance for my flash and
camera lens. I went behind a thin stone slab erected as compound on an empty site. I
looked around to notice all other photographers too occupying behind
the stone slabs which is around 200 or 300 feet away from the house. I could
also see Door Dharshan Photographer, a reporter and Photographer seen
behind a big compound wall little further a safe place to take picture and hide. But its too late for me to leave the place, the armed men might come out any time. Yes, it happened again, they came out, shouted some thing like "Vangada, Vangada" and started shooting with the machine
gun. Police shot back, now we could only see only the flares of the gun shot and its becoming darker and darker, I know I cant get any pictures with 100 ASA film and my flash cant reach such distance but kept
shooting hoping with some miracle I may get a frame, still praying god let them come near so that I can get a picture of the day. Gun shots stopped and I looked for other photographers, I could see none standing near by. They must have gone for a safe shelter or driven away by the police.
Now I was left behind and in a dilemma to leave or not leave, I could here police warning in the public system to clear from the vicinity, I sat down and hide from the police, some of the police men who noticed
my present and got down to clear me from the hiding but fell flat when the another round of firing from the house, now I could see police men lay down flat, injured or dead and could see a bullets striking a rock
very near to me making a sound like CLING, CLING just few feet away from where I was standing, It's so near to me, a buffalo lay dead near by but not sure its buffalo or only a rock it's dark. Some thing blocked my
throat, is it fear? Firing stopped from either side, I could see some one running towards me, and it's my colleague Natchi. He shouted standing from the road with his big belly, Gopi come back, otherwise
you get hit by bullets, I shouted back, Nachi go back, they can see you, I saw him crawling back. An ambulance van arrived and took away the injured police man laying down on the road, (they got bravery
award later). Though I want to stick on, I know at any time I will be cleared by police, so decided to hide from the police and find a safe place to wait and take pictures, still expected that the armed men may come out to escape which may give an opp for me take some picture. There was long silence, I too crawled and reached a wood
cutter shop but saw huge crowd gathered there. I met my reporter colleague Nagaraj and..... For Rest wait till tomorrow 😊
