(Asia Times-Hong Kong) After outwitting and outgunning the police for four decades, the legendary bandit Veerappan's reign as lord of the dense jungles of southern India may now come to an abrupt end - with a little help from Israel. Representatives of Israel visited Bangalore in January, at the invitation of the state government, to offer expertise in ending what has been billed as the world's longest-running manhunt. Reports say Veerappan has killed about 130 people, including security personnel and forest officials, and is believed to have slaughtered about 2,000 elephants for their tusks. Officials say the offer includes provision of sophisticated weaponry, target-identification devices, night-vision devices, satellite mapping, and communication intercepts and decoding. Israel has had known success in identifying and eliminating members of Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas by using high-technology weaponry.
2004-02-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive