Centre may rush commandos to nab Veerappan

The Centre may despatch elite commandos to capture forest brigand Veerappan who has held six people hostage for a week in his latest effort to obtain an amnesty.

According to informed sources, this is the central theme of the Karnataka government's talks with the Centre as also its Tamil Nadu counterpart since last week's Bandipur abductions.

''Indications are that the Centre may not be averse to taking this step,'' sources said. The Union government, however, would not like to initiate any step that may hamper Tamil Nadu's legitimate rights under the federal structure. ''The Centre has enough problems on hand with the Assam government over the Tata tapes and would not like a repeat of the same because of its overenthusiasm,'' added the source.

A team of senior Karnataka officials has been camping at Madras, holding talks with their Tamil Nadu counterparts.

The Karnataka government, reports indicate, has hardened its stand since the last round of kidnappings by Veerappan in July, which ended peacefully with the intervention of Nakkeran editor R Gopal.

''This time round, the Karnataka government has been talking more about the Centre's intervention to end the menace,'' said the source. ''There is little doubt as to what Chief Minister J H Patel meant when he sought the Centre's help, though, as an after-thought, he said that it could also imply peaceful means to end the hostage crisis. This was only to ensure that the sandalwood smuggler was not provoked into retaliating, and harming the hostages.''

In this context, the Karnataka government seems to be counting on Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K A Nambiar's internal working knowledge. He was the defence secretary at the Centre before his current posting last year.

''He knows, unlike most others involved in solving the hostage crisis, as to what exactly the central commando forces are capable of doing, and whether they are suited for the job on hand.''

While the Centre may not be averse to interfering in matters concerning national security, it is not known whether it would like to involve itself in capturing a criminal like Veerappan. ''Be it peaceful negotiations with Veerappan or commando action, the Centre would like to be convinced that this case would not cited as a precedent in future, particularly by demented terrorist groups elsewhere in the country bent on capturing national and international attention,'' said the source.

In this connection, the Karnataka government may refer to the 'Mamandur incident' in Tamil Nadu during the Jayalalitha regime, when some LTTE cadres escaped from police custody after killing their escorts. ''Their leader Kirupan, if newspaper reports of the time were to be believed, had escaped into Veerappan's jungles before making his way back to Jaffna,'' said the source. ''This, as also the possibilities of such continued LTTE forays in the Veerappan backyard, may provide enough cause for the Centre to be concerned about the current hostage crisis, ensuring its intervention.''

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