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The prize catch
 Recently, the Villupuram district Police successfully arrested a notorious criminal, who was involved in various dacoities and house breakings. The hardcore criminal, who was described as a 'mini Veerappan' in police circles had evaded the police dragnet for several years.
'Kora Raman', a criminal from the gypsy community (Korava), hailing from northern Tamil Nadu, is a tall, well-built personality, looking like a giant. While taking his fingerprints, the police could not record his prints on normal size paper!
His hands are like wooden planks, with each finger looking like a small crow bar. In the early 30s, the criminal, 'kora Raman' is said to have developed expertise in the art of committing
dacoities.
He would come with a group of criminals, armed with iron rods and other weapons, mercilessly attack the inmates, rape the women inmates and loot the jewels and valuables. He had committed such dacoities not only in the northern part of Tamil Nadu, but had also crossed the state borders and committed various such dacoities in
Bangalore.
He was also known, in some cases, to surreptitiously enter houses, and commit burglaries, looting the jewels when the inmates were sleeping in the house. His fingerprints had tallied in various dacoities and house breakings. Yet, the police were not successful in nabbing him despite searching for him for several years.
In fact, most of the policemen did not so much as have a glimpse of him, but when the police noticed the gravity of crimes committed, inferred that he should be a dangerous and hard core criminal. That is why they wanted to lay their hands on him by
deploying maximum force.
 A few months ago in Villupuram district of northern Tamil Nadu, a rich man was murdered. His daughter too was murdered after being mercilessly raped. Several hundred sovereigns of jewels and a hefty amount in cash were looted from the house.
After sustained investigation, the police found that the fingerprints developed from the scene of crime, tallied with Kora Raman. A special police investigation team was formed.
The police team began collecting information about the criminal from his fellow criminals. The first crucial clue they got was that his two children are studying in a Ooty convent!
Immediately the police had rushed to the Ooty convent and
enquired about the children and the parents. The authorities informed the police that the father of the children used to enquire about them through phone frequently.
Police camped at Ooty and waited for the phone call. When the phone call materialised, the police traced the call and got confirmation from the telephone authorities that the call was made from Thiruvallur town in northern Tamil
Nadu.
The police team then moved to Thiruvallur and camped there. The team stayed in a lodge. They wore dhoties which carried the AIADMK colour. They moved about in the town looking like AIADMK functionaries and went about their task in the town, making enquiries, using a photo of Kora Raman. They made an intensive search in the town for over one month.
 One day when the police team almost gave up the search and were planning to leave the town, they noticed a man, resembling Kora Raman, standing in the bus terminus. Since the photo with the police team was taken a decade ago, there were several variations between the photo and man standing in the bus terminus, thus raising some doubts in the minds of the police team.
One of the members of the police team went up to the man and asked him whether he was 'Raman'. Since he was dressed in plainclothes, that too wearing a dhoti with the AIADMK colours, the man did not suspect the cop and asked him how he knew his name. Immediately, the other cops surrounded him.
However, Raman escaped from their clutches. The policemen chased him. After a two-kilometre chase, the cops nabbed him finally. Even though he admitted that he was 'Kora Raman', police still did not trust him.
He was subjected to a fingerprint test and it was then confirmed that the man they nabbed was indeed Kora Raman.
However, the police are yet to identify and nab his associates. Kora Raman has so far refused to 'sing' about the group which used him to commit the burglaries.
One version put out is that he would use only his relatives in the burglaries, confident that they would not spill the beans about him. Now, despite the interrogation, he has not betrayed his relatives for the same reason.
Further investigation will have to await the disclosures by Kora Raman, as and when they take place. Until then, the old adage that blood is thicker than water holds good.
Harvey
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