By Sunaad Raghuram Mysore, Aug 27: In yet another twist to the legal battle being waged by Abdul Kareem, whose police officer son Shakeel Ahmed fell prey to the bullets of brigand Veerappan in 1992, a legal notice has been served on Union Home Secretary by Kareem's counsel A.K. Ramakrishnan. Ramakrishnan said the notice served under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure invokes Article 355 of the Constitution which makes it absolutely mandatory for the Central government to intervene in the Veerappan issue. The counsel said since the abduction of actor Rajkumar, the constitutional machinery in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had crumbled, necessitating the direct intervention of the Centre whose bounden duty it was to protect states from both external aggression as well as internal disturbances as stipulated by the Article 355. Quoting Dr. Nanjundappa, noted economist, the notice also informs the home secretary that there had been a loss of a whopping 15,000 crore to the state's exchequer as almost all major businesses, including activities of the cinema industry, had come to a standstill in the background of Rajkumar's kidnap. Abdul Kareem has also moved the Supreme Court praying for an order to prevent the Karnataka government from releasing the 51 alleged associates of Veerappan from Mysore jail, as demanded by the bandit.