MYSORE: The abduction of Rajkumar from his native place of Gajanur on Karnataka's border with Tamil Nadu by forest brigand Veerappan and his henchmen on July 30, 2000, was the most testing time for the superstar's family and fans.

The abduction of Dr. Rajkumar, who was then 72, along with three others including his son-in-law Govindaraju caught worldwide media attention. Dr. Rajkumar, who enjoyed unparalleled popularity on the Kannada silver screen, was the forest bandit's most prized catch.

His fans across the State went on a rampage to protest against the abduction.

The then Congress Government led by S.M. Krishna went into a tizzy in the wake of widespread violence. Dr. Rajkumar had been to his ancestral home in Gajanur, along with his wife, Parvathamma Rajkumar, a few close relatives and friends to make preparations for the house-warming ceremony of a new bungalow.

At night, when he taking rest there after dinner, Veerappan along with armed gangsters barged in and took him away.

He forced the superstar, Mr. Govindaraju and aides Nagappa and Nagesh out of the house at gunpoint. But, before leading Dr. Rajkumar into the forests of Talavadi, Veerappan handed over an audio cassette to Parvathamma Rajkumar and asked her to hand it over to the Chief Minister.

Immediately, Ms. Rajkumar drove to Bangalore and informed Mr. Krishna about the abduction.

Trouble had begun in Bangalore and other parts of the State, including Mysore, Hassan, Mandya and Shimoga, with the crack of dawn on July 31.

Stones were thrown a shops and business establishments and vehicles burnt. The State Government declared a holiday for all offices, schools and colleges for two days to contain the violence.

Mr. Krishna and Ms. Rajkumar to meet the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to facilitate the early release of the superstar. Veerappan's demands included the release of his associates booked under TADA. Dr. Rajkumar was kept hostage for the next 108 days.

After several rounds of negotiations by emissaries sent by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Governments, which included journalist R.R. Gopalan and Tamil nationalist leader P. Nedumaran, Dr. Rajkumar was from on the 109th day after his abduction in the forests of Satyamangalam in Tamil Nadu's Erode district.

Our Chamarajanagar correspondent reports:

The death Dr. Rajkumar plunged Gajanur, his birthplace, in grief. Rajanna, a friend of Dr. Rajkumar told The Hindu that that the actor always wanted to come to Gajanur.

Rajanna remembered the childhood days he spent with Dr. Rajkumar.

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