Aug. 6 :    Aug. 6:  Karnataka went on air this evening with the 'acceptance of all 10 demands' put forth by Veerappan for the release of Raj Kumar, hoping that the political-ethnic charter is not the tip of an iceberg. The decision to meet the demands, conveyed through a cassette, was taken after a meeting between the chief ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, S.M. Krishna and M. Karunanidhi, in Chennai. After Karnataka relayed the acceptance over All India Radio - the only link from Bangalore to the bandit's hideout - Krishna said he had information that mediator R. Gopal, Veerappan and Raj Kumar 'were discussing' the issue. Krishna drove to Raj Kum-ar's house and assured the actor's wife the crisis would be over soon. He said he was hopeful of the release of the hostages in a day or two. Top officials echoed him, but said they had not ruled out more demands. Asked about reports that Veerappan had sought Rs 50 crore, Karunanidhi dodged a direct reply. 'The Rs 50 crore demand is not found on the cassette we heard,' he said. But highly placed sources in Bangalore insisted that 'the bandit will get a huge booty'. Veerappan's 10-point charter made public by the two state governments (see chart) was remarkably devoid of any demand for immediate personal gain. Instead, they covered issues with profound implications and wide scope, allowing the governments to couch their 'acceptance' in vague bureaucratic jargon. Only one demand was accepted with no strings attached - the release of Veerappan's 51 alleged collaborators detained un-der Tada. Another condition wa-s met when the Karnataka government agreed to instal a statue of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore. But in a reciprocal gesture, Chennai will host a statue of Kannada poet Sarvajna. Referring to the demand to release Cauvery water, the chief ministers said an authoritative body had been set up with the Prime Minister as chairman. Asked if Tamil Nadu will demand more water, Karunanidhi said: 'This is not the time to do so.' On making Tamil an additional administrative language in Karnataka, they said the Centre had made it mandatory last year that government notices should be issued in a minority language wherever such a section constituted more than 15 per cent of the population. As for 'adequate compensation' to the Tamil victims of 1991 Cauvery riots in Bangalore, they said a relief authority had been constituted. The chief ministers promised to consider most other demands 'favourably'. However, the nature and overtone of the demands shovelled fuel into speculation that Veerappan may not be operating on his own this time. Krishna declined comment on the 'two voi-ces' on the cassette or confirm whether there were 'other political forces' behind Veerappan. 'I'm not an expert in detecting voices. As we have met his demands, I hope he will release the hostages immediately,' he said. However, speculation was rife that an extremist outfit, the Tamil National Liberation Arm-y, could be collaborating with Veerappan, who reportedly provides arms training to the group.