India's most-wanted bandit, described as a menace to "humans, wildlife and the environment", has agreed to surrender after being on the run for more than a decade.
The government of the southern state of Tamil Nadu said, Veerappan (47), last sighted by police in 1986, had agreed to give himself up. "Veerappan has agreed to surrender and to release the hostages he had kidnapped on July 12th," a statement said.
Veerappan kidnapped nine forest rangers in July in the jungles on the border of the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. He released one hostage and demanded a ransom of about £1 million which was rejected by the Tamil Nadu government.
The statement said the chief minister of Karnataka would arrive in Madras, the Tamil Nadu capital, to "work out modalities of the surrender".
In an audio cassette sent to journalist, R Raju Gopal, who acted as an intermediary for the authorities, an emotional Veerappan said: "I had demanded money for my people not for myself. I have realised now . . . what am I going to do with that money? I am requesting you with folded hands to help me lead a normal life after my surrender.
Veerappan had threatened to kill the rangers if his demands, including a general pardon for him and his men, were not met by August 15th.
Gopal recently said the bandit "almost killed" two hostages on July 27th, when the state governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka refused him an amnesty.
Veerappan is said to have become an ivory and sandalwood poacher in the forests of southern India. His killing spree began in 1986 when he shot five policemen and a forestry official after being arrested. In 1993, he killed 21 policemen in a landmine explosion. He is also believed to be responsible for the slaughter of hundreds of elephants for their tusks.
Veerappan has described himself as an incarnation of the Hindu warrior god, Rama, and a latter-day Robin Hood saying he had the mandate to kill "demonic officials who torment poor people".