Key players in Raj abduction saga

Nakheeran Gopal

Hailed as the first journalist to interview Veerappan, Gopal was chosen by the Tamil Nadu government to negotiate with the forest brigand to release Rajkumar. Interviewing Veerappan in the early 90s was followed by the successful release of Karnataka forest department guards in 1997.
Gopal initially carried out negotiations with the brigand in vain for four consecutive times.

P Nedumaran

Pazha Nedumaran was the choice of both the governments when Gopal failed to convince the brigand to release Rajkumar.

A leader of Tamil Desiya Iyakkam (Tamil National Movement) was chosen to negotiate with Veerappan and sent as co-emissary with Gopal. However, the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to send Nedumaran was widely criticised, owing to his alleged ties with LTTE leaders in Sri Lanka.

Dr Bhanu

When there was no headway in securing Rajkumar from the clutches of Veerappan, Bengaluru doctor Bhanu surprised everyone by getting the actor out of the forest.

The thespian himself acknowledged her role in
his release. Bhanu was said to be the close associate of social activist Ruth Manorama. The doctor reportedly told Rajkumar to feign serious illness, which led Veerappan to soften his stand.