Emissary to meet Movie Star's kidnapper

An new effort is underway in southern India to secure the release of the film star, Rajkumar, who was kidnapped on Sunday night by the notorious bandit, Veerappan.

A Tamil newspaper editor has agreed to act as an emissary and he has gone into a forest to meet Veerappan.

The editor was the first journalist to meet Veerappan; he helped to negotiate the release of ten people kidnapped by the bandit three years ago.

News of the kidnapping led to anti-Tamil demonstrations yesterday in Bangalore -- the capital of Rajkumar's home state, Karnataka.

The authorities there today closed schools and colleges to prevent further trouble and stopped buses entering the state from neighbouring Tamil Nadu state.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service