In Veerappan land

In Veerappan land

Goodness alone knows what all the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments will do to mollycoddle Veerappan. So far, they have done everything possible to fulfill the demands of the elephant poacher. In the latest act of surrender, Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna has justified the release on bail of 121 associates of Veerappan on the ground that it was in the public interest. Fortunately, the Supreme Court had a different view of the matter. The chief minister's announcement came a day after the two state governments earmarked Rs 5 crore each for a corpus to rehabilitate the families of those of Veerappan's gang who were killed by the Special Task Force set up to nab him in the eighties. It is not known whether the governments have conceded anything more to Veerappan than has been announced. Given the servility of the two chief ministers, it may not be a surprise if Nakeeran editor R.R. Gopal, who is now on his third mission in three weeks to negotiate with the poacher, carries any secret tidings.Even as the two states compete with each other in conceding Veerappan's demands, nobody pays any attention to the gross injustice involved in letting a criminal have his way. It is incomprehensible how a democratic system can accept spending of government money to rehabilitate the kith and kin of criminals killed by the police in their operations against them. The injustice is all the greater as no such funds have been earmarked for rehabilitating hundreds of people, including the relations of policemen killed in action, whose peaceful lives had been shattered by the poacher and his gang of killers.

What's worse, there has been no attempt to ferret Veerappan out from his hideout. The police are at the mercy of Gopal, who does not have any problem in reaching Veerappan and bringing cassettes upon cassettes of his demands. Does this not show the bankruptcy of the police forces of the two states? Reports suggest that Veerappan is no longer his former self -- a self-serving bandit out to make a killing. He now has the backing of some Tamil extremist groups as is reflected in the kind of language he uses these days. The states and their politicians cannot escape responsibility for creating this new Veerappan, who now has a political agenda to pursue. It's true the states face a ticklish problem as any step that will harm film star Rajkumar will have disastrous consequences. But that does not mean that the governments should give a go-by to all canons of justice and fair play. It is often forgotten that the states are dealing with a criminal who does not play by the rules of the book. Ordinarily, this shouldfree the states also from the obligation of playing by the rule book. In other words, any step that rescues Rajkumar while bringing the criminals to book is welcome.

It is difficult to prescribe the exact course of action warranted in the given circumstances but what is distressing is that no such thoughts have even occurred to the two states. It is one month since Rajkumar was kidnapped and the only thing the police have done so far is to pore over the cassettes sent by Veerappan. Law and order is a state subject but that does not mean the Centre should look the other way as the states abdicate their responsibility.