<p>One of them is A Kamaraj, whose residence at Besant Nagar here was among those searched by the CBI on Wednesday. The exact charge against him is not known. <br /><br />Kamaraj, who hails from a humble background in Raja’s home turf Perambalur district, has been in Tamil journalism for over 25 years now, and has come up the hard way, say sources close to him. <br /><br />Kamaraj is presently Joint Editor of Tamil biweekly “Nakkeeran” which has changed the face of Tamil magazine journalism since its launch in April 1988 by R R Gopal. While Gopal has been brash and flamboyant, Kamaraj has largely maintained a low-profile image. However, he first came into limelight in a big way when forest brigand Veerappan kidnapped veteran Kannada film actor Rajkumar in 1999-2000. <br /><br />With aplomb and firm discretion, Kamaraj handled the coordination from here when his editor was then sent by the DMK regime to negotiate with Veerappan in the forests to get Rajkumar released safely. It was sensational pro-activism by the duo, when the Tamil Nadu police had no clue either of Veerappan’s whereabouts in the Sathyamangalam forest or that of the Kannada thespian. <br /><br />Kamaraj then rose from the post of assistant editor to higher levels even as he played a key role in more exposes, including the one on Bangalore-based Swami Nithyananda. <br />He has been Gopal’s Man Friday since long and doing many of the interviews with top political leaders for the magazine. <br /><br />Another Tamil journalist whom the CBI zeroed in on Wednesday is Narasimhan, a reporter with a Tamil television channel in Tiruchirappalli. He is allegedly involved with Raja’s key aides in their real estate business.<br /><br />Weekly defends employee<br /><br />Tamil weekly “Nakkeeran” on Wednesday refuted certain media reports that its employee Kamaraj had a stake in a company run by former Union Minister A Raja’s family and said he had fully cooperated with CBI officials, who conducted raids in his house, reports PTI from Chennai.<br /></p>
<p>One of them is A Kamaraj, whose residence at Besant Nagar here was among those searched by the CBI on Wednesday. The exact charge against him is not known. <br /><br />Kamaraj, who hails from a humble background in Raja’s home turf Perambalur district, has been in Tamil journalism for over 25 years now, and has come up the hard way, say sources close to him. <br /><br />Kamaraj is presently Joint Editor of Tamil biweekly “Nakkeeran” which has changed the face of Tamil magazine journalism since its launch in April 1988 by R R Gopal. While Gopal has been brash and flamboyant, Kamaraj has largely maintained a low-profile image. However, he first came into limelight in a big way when forest brigand Veerappan kidnapped veteran Kannada film actor Rajkumar in 1999-2000. <br /><br />With aplomb and firm discretion, Kamaraj handled the coordination from here when his editor was then sent by the DMK regime to negotiate with Veerappan in the forests to get Rajkumar released safely. It was sensational pro-activism by the duo, when the Tamil Nadu police had no clue either of Veerappan’s whereabouts in the Sathyamangalam forest or that of the Kannada thespian. <br /><br />Kamaraj then rose from the post of assistant editor to higher levels even as he played a key role in more exposes, including the one on Bangalore-based Swami Nithyananda. <br />He has been Gopal’s Man Friday since long and doing many of the interviews with top political leaders for the magazine. <br /><br />Another Tamil journalist whom the CBI zeroed in on Wednesday is Narasimhan, a reporter with a Tamil television channel in Tiruchirappalli. He is allegedly involved with Raja’s key aides in their real estate business.<br /><br />Weekly defends employee<br /><br />Tamil weekly “Nakkeeran” on Wednesday refuted certain media reports that its employee Kamaraj had a stake in a company run by former Union Minister A Raja’s family and said he had fully cooperated with CBI officials, who conducted raids in his house, reports PTI from Chennai.<br /></p>
