Raj Kumar, who has appeared in more than 200 Kannada-language films, was watching TV with his wife when the gunmen burst into their farmhouse. The gang left an audiocassette with the actor’s wife before fleeing with the hostages into sugar-cane fields.
The kidnapping rattled southern India, where the 72-year-old Raj Kumar is an idol. Agitated fans took to the streets of Bangalore, capital of Karnataka and India’s Silicon Valley, stopping buses, overturning cars and throwing stones at Tamil-language-newspaper offices. Veerappan is a native of Tamil Nadu state.
Veerappan, a wiry man with a handlebar mustache, is nearly as legendary as Raj Kumar, but a lot less popular. He’s said to be a notorious elephant poacher, a sandalwood smuggler and a killer, who lives in forest hideouts and who, through a network of paid informants, has eluded capture for almost 15 years. Authorities say he’s responsible for the slaughter of some 2,000 elephants and has felled fragrant sandalwood trees worth roughly $25 million. He’s also suspected of murdering about 120 police officers, forest guards and civilians. Three years ago, in three separate incidents, Veerappan and his gang kidnapped 22 bureaucrats and tourists and tried to bargain for a general amnesty for himself and his men. The authorities refused, and eventually Veerappan freed all the hostages. Karnataka officials say that Veerappan is desperate to cut a deal that willget him out of the leech-infested forests, and keep him out of prison.
Veerappan’s demands are as bold as the kidnapping. In addition to amnesty, he has asked for $10 million in ransom, and he also wants Tamil to be given official second-language status in Karnataka. The authorities have sent a Tamil newspaper editor to negotiate with the bandit. The police are in a bind: they can’t give Veerappan amnesty because that might encourage more kidnappings. And should any harm come to Raj Kumar, there would certainly be violence between Kannada- and Tamil-speaking peoples. In a strange twist to the tale, Raj Kumar himself, through an audiocassette sent out from his captivity, has asked for amnesty for Veerappan who, the actor said, is treating him with brotherly devotion. Veerappan strikes again.
