Vijayanagara, Jun 14 (IANS): Karnataka Police on Wednesday said it has provided security to veteran Kannada author K. Veerabhadrappa after he received 16 death threat letters.

It said that the District Police Reserve has provided an armed constable to guard Veerabhadrappa, popularly known as KumVee in the Kannada literary world.

Police sources said that a person has been taken into custody and samples of his handwriting have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).

Talking about the police protection, Veerabhadrappa told the media: "I have not given much attention to the threats, I am involved in writing a book."

Veerabhadrappa had returned an award conferred on him by the Sahitya Akademy for his novel 'Aramane' in 2008 in protest against growing intolerance and the threat to the spirit of the constitution and secularism.

He had also declared that he is a Lingayat and not a Hindu.

The police department has taken serious note of the development of threat to his life in the backdrop of gruesome killings of writer and activist Gauri Lankesh and Prof. M.M. Kalaburgi.

Author Veerabhadrappa has been supportive of the Muslim community on issues such as hijab ban and boycott calls over halal meat and Muslim mango vendors.

He expressed his unhappiness over litterateurs who had kept mum against fascist forces.

He maintained that for any writer, the health of the society is more important than his/her life.