Bandit: Let Me Come Home

A bandit who has eluded pursuit for almost two decades and is wanted for killing more than 130 police officers offered to release an abducted movie star in exchange for $12 million—and the right to rejoin society, officials said Saturday.

Veerappan, who kidnapped well-known Indian actor Rajkumar on Sunday, made the demands in an audio cassette he sent through an emissary to governments of the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where police have tried in vain to arrest him for 18 years.

A senior official of Karnataka state told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Veerappan made a list of six demands, including the ransom, amnesty from both governments and a safe house in Tamil Nadu.

He also wants financial compensation for Tamil people affected in ethnic riots in 1991, official recognition for the Tamil language in Karnataka state and resolution of a water dispute on behalf of Tamil Nadu.

Krishna said Veerappan gave no deadline.

Veerappan, who like many in southern India goes by only one name, enjoys a reputation as a Robin Hood-like figure, striking from his hide-out in the dense Andhiyur-Satyamangalam forest and championing the cause of the poor.

Governments call him a ruthless criminal who has killed at least 130 policemen and profited from slaughtering elephants for ivory, smuggling fragrant sandalwood trees and kidnapping for ransom.

But at age 56, he now reportedly suffers from asthma and has repeatedly offered to surrender in exchange for amnesty. The government of Karnataka, where most of his crimes were committed, wants him tried.

Rajkumar, 72, who has appeared in more than 200 Kannada-language films in a five-decade career, was seized Sunday along with three others from his vacation home.

In an earlier taped message, Rajkumar asked for the government to give Veerappan amnesty.