It all began with the initiative shown by two Kabaddi players in Bangalore's Central Jail. Now over 2,000 prisoners are ready to ``fight the enemy'' at Kargil. In a memorandum submitted to Prison Superintendent B S Abbai and signed by all 2000, the inmates have requested that they be allowed to go to the front. And Abbai has promised to forward the request to the authorities.Muthuraj hails from Chamrajpet and was part of the 1993 Asian Games Kabadditeam which won the only gold medal for India. Both he and the other Kabaddi player in jail Muruga alias Murugesh (29) of Adugodi - were the ones to initiate the idea of going to Kargil. About 42 of the nearly 70-odd inmates of their barrack signed the original memorandum submitted to Abbai.

Soon others were inspired to join in. Now it is ``Kargil chalo'' throughout the prison. ``First they collected about Rs 20,000 to help the families of Kargil victims. Now 2,000 of them are saying that they want to take part in the war. If that happens, only 350 people will remain in jail,'' Superintendent Abbai is naturally surprised.

Murugesh, who has an attempt to murder charge against him, says: ``Pakistan is sending mercenaries to Kargil and we too can do the same. Though we are not sharpshooters, we can at least lob a few grenades. '' Murugesh hopes to be acquitted in a month or two. ``That does not mean I will not go to Kargil. My address is with the Superintendent ,'' he promises. Sampath (44), a formerserviceman convicted for murdering a civilian in Dehradun over a minor dispute and serving a life sentence, is also eager to join his former colleagues at the border. Having served the Army for 22 years, this man says: ``I don't need training and I can go to the front now. Otherwise, my life will be wasted behind these bars,'' he says.

Francis Coutinho, a former associate of Mumbai don Subhas Chandra Thakur, is also raring to go. He was arrested under TADA in Delhi in 1994 and brought to the City jail six months ago where he is facing charges in two cases the murder of city gangster Muthappa Rai's associate Jayantha Rai at Puttur (Mangalore district) and the infamous shootout at the Metropolitan Magistrate's Court compound when he unsuccessfully tried to kill Muthappa Rai.

``Given a chance, I will go to Kargil. For 25 years I have been involved in a life of crime. May be one day I will get released. But I will be a victim of some bullet in a gang war. Let it be the enemy's bullet, after I kill some ofthem,'' Francis adds.