Bangalore, Dec 5: The recent Bangalore ATM attack has been the second-biggest inter-state police manhunt involving Karnataka, 400 police personnel from two states are systematically searching villages in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. Officer dismissed reports of lack of co-ordination between police of states “After the joint Karnataka-Tamil Nadu operation against forest brigand Veerappan, this is the second-biggest manhunt involving our state and a neighbour. While about 500 personnel were involved in hunting for Veerappan in the jungles on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, about 200 policemen from Karnataka and as many from Andhra Pradesh are involved in the current search,” a city police officer on the chase in Anantapur told TOI. The entire district has been sanitized and teams of two constables each are visiting each and every village with sketches and photographs of the assailant. “We’re leaving no stone unturned in getting information. Every household is being watched and residents have been told to look out for the assailant whose photographs have been circulated in a look-out notice,” added the police officer. Police sources told TOI that teams of Anantapur and Bangalore police are randomly checking and verifying even ration cards and other documents like voter identity cards of residents. “The assailant may have gone to neighbouring districts like Bellary in Karnataka or Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. We know he’s fluent in Kannada and Telugu and he’ll be at home where these languages are spoken. We’re ruling out the possibility of his going across to Tamil Nadu,” another police officer said. The officer dismissed reports of lack of co-ordination between the police of two states. “We’ve been getting excellent feedback from local police and happy the way they’re conducting themselves,” he said.
