Opinion/ V C Bhaskaran

Gujral has only Laloo to reckon with -- but Veerappan has a whole lot of Laloos

On October 9, when Veerappan was calmly whisking away a bus load of visitors from the Bandipur national park, the head of the Special Task Force (constituted to nab the brigand) was picnicking just three kilometres away with friends from Delhi.

It's a mystery how Veerappan, reputed to know every inch of the 2,000 square kilometres where he operates, failed to get wind of the STF chief. Had he taken the police official captive, it would have been a prize catch. But fortunately, it didn't happen -- and the police officer can thank his stars for that.

In any case, the brigand has, as Karnataka Home Minister Roshan Baig admitted one week after the incident, made laughing stock of the government. It may look strange that despite the massive manhunt mounted by the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments, in which, for a time, even the Border Security Force was involved, Veerapan still calls the shots.

But it isn't, actually. All it takes is a superficial understanding of our politicians. And when the political leadership is hand in glove with a criminal, the bureaucracy cannot be far behind, can they now?

That is not to say that all are black sheeps. But the white ones are few and far between. So, naturally, Veerappan reigns supreme. And thumps his nose at the authorities whenever he feels like it.

According to conservative estimates, Veerappan has sold sandalwood worth a billion rupees and ivory worth 120 million -- all from the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu forests, and all necessarily by means generally used to transport goods. Common sense dictates this cannot have been without the collusion of the men-in-power. We are talking about millions here, remember?

Thanks to him, a full grown tusker has become a rare phenomenon in the forests of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A keen forest watcher told me he had, many a time, chanced upon herds forming a ring around a male. The norm is for the tusker to lead the herd. The poor beasts have sensed the ever-present spectre of death for their males and the imminent extinction of their race!

Veerappan has often spoken of the high and mighty who have eaten out of his hand. These people have no use for him any more. Worse, he is a sinister threat to their survival. Veerappan knows it too well. The hostage drama is his game plan for survival.

Let Veerappan speak. No doubt, the criminal deserves the hangman's noose. He has committed numerous murders. But his collaborators in khadi and khaki also deserve punishment for aiding and abetting him. If Veerappan speaks up, he will be doing a great service to the people, especially the poor and helpless for whom he has a lot of sympathy. These people have remained poor because of the criminals in power.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who has vowed to undertake a satyagraha against corruption, has called for an 'amicable solution' (whatever that may mean) to the hostage crisis. Perhaps Gujral can gauge Veerappan's feelings best as a fellow fugitive (albeit political).

Gujral has only Laloo Yadav to reckon with; Veerappan, a whole lot of Laloos, big and small, in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu! So the best service the PM can do the nation is let Veerappan speak before he is silenced.

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