Is he a poacher, smuggler, Robin Hood, plain thug, or a Tamil politician-in-the-making? Will the real Veerappan please emerge out of the jungle?
It has been a distinguished story of crime for Veerappan since1955, when he first killed a tusker at the age of 10, and was recognised for his talent by another poacher, Se Vair Gounder, who recruited him as an understudy. Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, a resident of Gopinatham village in Tamil Nadu, has been unleashing his reign of terror since 1984. He has murdered 158 people and over 2000 elephants, netting him over INR 1000 million (USD 22 million).
But the kidnapping of Rajkumar, the Kannada matinee idol, has added a totally new dimension to this poacher´s life. Someone might make a blockbuster out of this one of these days—a Tamil villain kidnaps a Kannada hero and all hell breaks loose between Tamilians and Kannadigas. Indeed, the violence that erupted after the sensational incident threatened to remind Bangaloreans of the Cauvery riots over water sharing in 1991. Fortuitously, the violence didn´t assume alarming proportions for the minority Tamils in Karnataka, although the last has not been heard yet.
Perhaps, one reason is that Rajkumar is as dear to the Tamils residing in Karnataka as to the Kannadigas themselves. The rallies taken out by several Tamil organisations in Bangalore and elsewhere in the city seeking the release of their hero, seems to indicate the measure of affection. But the tale got its twist when the government emissary, Gopal, quoted Veerappan as saying that he is fighting for 60 million Tamils