Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna's son-in-law V G Siddhartha has filed a Rs five million (Rs 50 lakh) defamation suit against the state's former deputy general of police C Dinakar in connection with some allegations made by the latter in his recently-released book.

Siddhartha's counsel Vijayalakshmi Menon alleged that the ex-DGP, in his book 'Veerappan's Prize Catch: Rajakumar', made 'false' statements about her client acting as a go-between to secure film actor Rajakumar's release from Veerappan's clutches.

Menon's contention was that Siddhartha's name had been 'dragged' into the controversy to 'give credence to a false story'. She added that Siddhartha had no knowledge about how the state government handled the matter.

Dinakar, in his 318-page book, has alleged that a Rs 200 million (Rs 20 crore) ransom was paid to Veerappan in exchange for Rajakumar. He also claimed that the money was paid to the bandit in instalments through various persons, including a senior police official, acting as go-betweens.

Taking cognisance of the suit, Justice K S Gupta on Tuesday issued a notice to Dinakar and his Delhi-based publisher Konark Publications. They have been told to submit their replies by January 27.

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