“It was the police official from Kodagu who gave me a rebirth during operation against Veerappan,” said DGP (Retd) Shankar Bidari.

Speaking at the annual meeting of Kodagu district retired police officers welfare association, in Madikeri on Tuesday, he said “during operation against Veerappan, when the opponents opened fired at me, it was my guard Manavatteera Ponnappa who came in front of me and saved my life and lost his life.”

“In the name of Ponnappa, I will give Rs one lakh to the Association. The money should be used for providing scholarships for the children of police who have scored highest marks in SSLC/PUC.”

“I have appealed to the State government to rename the Police Training Academy in Dharwad after police officer N A Muthanna. The government has responded positively,” he said.

Association President M A Appayya, SP Manjunath Annigeri and others were present.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> District / Madikeri, DH News Service / November 07th, 2012