And now, the hunt

Frontline: "Nedumaran complained that while the press highlighted only Veerappan's smuggling of ivory and sandalwood, it never exposed the support given to him by politicians and bureaucrats. He accused the press of 'hiding the atrocities of the ruling class'. Accor ding to him, the Veerappan issue was a by-product of the socio-economic problems of the area in question. Nedumaran argued that the people of the area had been badly affected by the activities of STF and Forest Department personnel. Only when a solution was found to their problems would the issue be resolved, he said. 'Otherwise, many more Veerappans will rise.' "