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November 16, 2000

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Nakkeeran Gopal sulking. And, why not?

Shobha Warrier in Madras

If R R Gopal, the original emissary, is embarrassed and sulking, he has every reason to do so.

If not for Gopal and the Tamil bi-weekly Nakkeeran which he edits, nobody would have even seen a picture of Veerappan. It was due to Gopal's missions to the forests to negotiate the release of Dr Rajakumar that enabled the thespian's family to communicate with him, know about his living conditions in the forest and about the state of his health.

However, in the end, Gopal was sidelined as it appears that Tamil extremists, and not Veerappan, were calling the shots. And, it was not Gopal, but somebody else the extremists wanted to talk to.

So, Gopal was in Madras when Tamil National Movement leader P Nedumaran, human rights activists Prof. Kalyani and Sukumaran managed to secure the release of Dr Rajakumar from Veerappan's custody.

Last Saturday, when Nedumaran met the press to announce that he would join the negotiating team, he had categorically stated that Gopal would also be part of the team.

Asked whether all of them would go together, Nedumaran replied in a lighter vein, "All of us cannot fit into one car. So, we will go in our car and Gopal and his team will come in another car."

However, while Gopal and his team never left Madras Nedumaran and the others set out for the Satyamangalam forests on Saturday night itself.

Before leaving, Nedumaran informed the press that it was not necessary to wait for any signal from Veerappan while the Nakkeeran office maintained that Gopal was waiting for a signal from Veerappan.

As it turned out later, no signal reached the Nakkeeran office. The most embarrassing moment for Nakkeeran and Gopal came when they issued a press release on Wednesday saying that Gopal had left for the forests when Dr Rajakumar had already been released.

When Gopal returned from his first mission to negotiate the release of Dr Rajakumar, he brought back a video cassette and some photographs. At that time he had said, "Last time (1997), I had to deal with one Veerappan, but this time there were nine Veerappans."

He claimed that Veerappan had become a terrorist and that Tamil National Liberation Army extremists were present during the negotiations. Veerappan, apparently, did not take any decision without consulting them.

As mission after mission failed, it became apparent the extremists did not want to negotiate with a person whose sympathies lay with the governments that had sent him.

That was how Nedumaran came into the picture. It was the extremists' decision to invite him along with Prof. Kalyani and Sukumaran to the negotiating table, as they felt Nedumaran understood what they were talking about.

The extremists appreciated and, perhaps identified with Nedumaran's extreme-left views, his call to the people of Madurai to register themselves as Tamils and not as Indians, and his sympathetic attitude to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Once the trio joined the negotiating team, Gopal was sidelined. Nedumaran 'reluctantly' agreed to accompany Gopal on his fifth mission on 'humanitarian grounds'. Their first mission together was partially successful and they brought back Rajakumar's son-in-law Govindraj.

After returning from that mission, it was Nedumaran who talked to the press. The usually ebullient Gopal kept a low profile and refused to talk to the media.

Nedumaran maintained that he would talk about the mission only after it was completely successful. Before embarking on the sixth mission, he confidently described it as the last.

This despite the Supreme Court's refusal to release the Terrorist And Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act detenues and National human Rights Commission refusing to intervene.

Under the circumstances, Nedumaran's confidence was baffling. Dr Rajakumar's sons and well-wishers realised who was calling the shots and pleaded with Nedumaran to secure the thespian's freedom.

An irked Gopal, who had done all the spadework, showed his displeasure by not accompanying Nedumaran and the others in the last mission.

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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