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Terrorised Soligas caught between Veerappan and STF

The Soligas are perennially caught between the devil and the deep sea.

While it may be a matter of debate on who is the devil and who is the deep sea, the mistrust of Veerappan on one hand and the arm twisting of the Special Task Force on the other is a harsh reality confronting the tribesmen everyday.

Civil society group activists working with the Soligas say the STF routinely picks up the tribesmen to know the whereabouts of the forest brigand and Veerappan, for his part, holds some of them hostage to force their kin to provide him food, shelter and information.

"Many times they go missing for days and the police even refuses to register a report," one activist told rediff.com. And, more often than not, when the tribesmen are picked up by the STF there are no records of their arrests, he adds.

While Veerappan suspects the Soligas to be informers, the police holds them responsible for supplying the forest brigand with succour and information about the movement of STF personnel.

But activists say the Soligas, who live on forest produce like honey, fungus, medicinal roots and herbs, have to enter the Sathyamanglam forest range every day to eke out a living. Of late the tribesmen have also taken up cow rearing, making them venture deep into the forest to let their cattle graze.

The Soligas have their own closely guarded tales of various encounters with the brigand.

Mallaih [name changed], after much persuasion, whispers: "I have seen him many times."

"Twice I supplied him with food. He had held my two sons' hostage and asked me to bring food before sunset. I rushed to the nearby village, which was ten kilometres away, and came back before evening," he says. "He made us to stay in the forest that night. He went away in the morning, but only after warning us not to venture out before noon. He gave me some money too."

"To me the life my two sons was precious, not the money. We came back and the STF came to know about it. They took me to their camp, tortured me for two days and made me to confess that I had worked with Veerappan for many days. They put me in jail for many days and now I am out on bail. This has brought me more financial miseries as I have to go to Mysore court once a month," says Mallaih.

Like Mallaih, activists say, every Soliga has the possibility of meeting Veerappan one day or the other as the forest department officials do not enter it due to the fear of being captured by the dreaded brigand.

And that is exactly what you encounter in a Podu [Soliga tribal settlement].

"Sir, he kidnaps important people once in a while. But our men and women are kidnapped every day. We get them released by helping him. If governments can do what Veerappan wants to get important persons released, why not we?" asks a tribal leader.

Out of 121 people who were released by a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (prevention) Act court in 2001, 43 were Soligas. The prosecution failed to prove them guilty, but by that time most of them had spent anywhere between seven to eight years in jail.

"Under these conditions, would you expect me to help the government?" a woman, who had spent precious years in jail, asked.

While Nagappa is the current hostage of the forest brigand, the Soligas seem to be the perpetual hostages of Veerappan. The ham-handed approach of the STF only adds to the misery of the peace loving tribesmen.

"Both [Veerappan and the STF] are equally exploiting us. When this will end?" asks Jadaya, an unemployed Soliga graduate, helplessness and pain written all over his face.

H Nagappa Abduction: Complete coverage
The Abduction of Dr Rajakumar
The Hunt for Veerappan

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