INDIA: Bounty hunters were preparing to seek the hoard of cash, ivory, sandalwood and animal skins reportedly buried in southern India's jungles by the country's most notorious brigand who was shot dead by police earlier this week.
Police yesterday said that the treasure hunt for the "vast riches" stashed in underground pits by Koose Muniswamy Veerappan over two decades in the thick forests of adjoining Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states could extend to over 10,000 sq km.
Based on tip-offs from informants, police in Karnataka's capital, Bangalore, said Veerappan had reportedly buried plastic bags packed with 500 rupee and 1,000 rupee notes alongside sacks full of ivory from the more than 2,000 elephants he had poached.
The 60-year-old bandit, who murdered more than 120 people and cut down large tracts of precious sandalwood, had amassed a massive fortune following nearly 30 years of banditry.
He was reportedly paid 200 million rupees alone as ransom for a popular film actor, Rajkumar, whom he kidnapped three years ago, holding him captive for more three months.
Veerappan was buried on Wednesday in his home state of Tamil Nadu after being killed two days earlier in a police ambush on his way out of the forest to seek medical treatment for an eye complaint.
A plainclothes policeman, who infiltrated his gang and ingratiated himself with Veerappan, tricked the bandit into making the perilous journey.
Three of Veerappan's close associates also died in the firefight.
Police said one of them was reportedly Veerappan's chief lieutenant who knew the location of all their treasure burial spots.
" The secret of the treasure has been buried with Veerappan," a police official said.
But the biggest mystery surrounding the bandit, known as "the jungle cat", was the near-disappearance of his luxuriant, trademark handlebar moustache.
Officials from the Special Task Force who had hunted Veerappan for years said he must have clipped his thick moustache recently to escape detection during his trips out of the jungle for medical attention.
The years as a fugitive had worn out the lanky and athletic bandit, who was suffering from eye and stomach troubles.
"Veerappan was very proud of his moustache. He loved his moustache and wouldn't have cut it unless it was a matter of life and death," a police officer said. It was a macho symbol that fitted his hard life in the woods, he added.
A Tamil journalist, R.R. Gopal, who spent extended periods negotiating with Veerappan in his jungle hideouts, said he lavished elaborate care on his moustache, treating it with special oils and herbs before carefully combing and rolling it round his fingers to give it a stylish droop.