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He is a terror who
rules the vast expanse of 20,000 square kilometers of forest
bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. You can call him a dreaded
forest brigand, but he has proved to be the local 'Robin Hood.'
He has killed over 2000 elephants and nearly 120 people, the list includes officers from Indian Forest Service and Indian Police Service. The Government has so far spent well over Rs 11 crore each month ever since the hunt for Veerappan started a decade ago.
He is wanted dead or alive and his head carries a paltry sum of Rs five lakh. Veerappan alias Molukkan, is a native of Gopinatham, a small hamlet on the borders of Karnataka_ and Tamil Nadu. His reign of terror spreads across Kollegal Taluk in Karnataka and Satyamangalam and Salem area in Tamil Nadu.
The river Palar, a tributary of River Cauvery, is the main area of his operation. The lure of wealth and fear of death forces the local inhabitants to support him. Fifteen platoons (445 personnel) of Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) with another 200 armed personnel from Tamil Nadu forms the Joint Task Force which has been formed to nab Veerappan. Six more KSRP platoons guard the villages, which support his operations.
He was initiated into sandalwood smuggling by his mentor, Selvian Gounder. He belongs to the Padayachi Gounder community and could strike a chord with the inhabitants of the area as they are socio-economically backward and Veerappan had a lot of money to win these people over.
He enjoyed clout among the leading politicians and businessmen of the area, but targeted police for spoiling his regular booty. In April 1990, he killed five police officers near Hoggenekal falls and he suddenly gained popularity since then. The poacher-killer was arrested only once on his lifetime. That was during the 1986 SAARC meet at Bangalore. He was on his trip to Bangalore to buy arms from the city and was striking a deal at a restaurant when he was caught. He soon slipped from the police dragnet. After his escape, he unleashed the terror of killing people and kidnapping for ransom. Now reportedly weak and aging (he is around 54 years), he wants to retire.
In November 1991, a dare devil Deputy Conservator of Forest was killed by his gang. His head was chopped off and thrown away. This was in retaliation to the government seeking Army support for his arrest.
Yet another gruesome killing took place in August 1992, when Superintendent of Police T. Harikrishna was trapped by his gang, while the officer was on his way to a combing operation near Meenyum.
Soon followed the daylight murder of five more policemen at Ramapura police station in Chamarajanagar district. On April 9, 1993, he planted landmines and killed 22 commandos of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka forces.
Veerappan also lost his close confidantes in this attempt. In February 1992 Gurunathan, a dealer of arms was killed in an encounter. In another encounter one more associate of Veerappan, Anthony Raj, was killed in Bodhamalai forest. In the recent years, he changed his strategy. His targets were famed photographers and scientists and forest officials, who frequented the forests. They were all released amidst high drama.
Sunday's kidnapping will also result in such an end, police officers feel. The joint Special Task Force (STF) of both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu could arrest so far 187 persons, while the STF killed 60 'gang members' including Veerappan's brother Arjunan, who committed suicide by consuming cyanide capsule.
The government suspects that Veerappan could have links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Veerappan with his latest prize catch
