Veerappan: Beera of Ravan movie: robin hood for the poor

	These photos throw light on the kind of life Veerapan leads in his forest hideout...»

Has anybody wondered why one of India's most wanted criminals, with an official murder tally of 120 people, managed to remain invisible for more than four decades? Why is it that a force dedicated especially to capture him (STF), has been unable to drag him out from his natural habitat, the sandalwood forest, in 10 years?
First of all, the nation and especially the task force, needs to understand that Veerappan is not a myth. Of course, he remained virtually a mythical figure until a Nakkeeran reporter, Sivasubramaniam, brought him to limelight in the early 1990s. Ironically, the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police did not even have the latest photograph of Veerappan until Nakkeeran broke the story. A lot has happened since then, but the bandit remains elusive to the police but visible to the local tribes who have nourished his ‘Robin Hood’ image.
Veerappan's roots
Nothing much is recorded or written about the brigand's early childhood or family background. All that is known is that he was born into a poor and backward Tamil-speaking Padayachi family. The village was Gopinatham in the Kollegal taluk of Karnataka, bordering Tamil Nadu. Since Gopinatham is set in the mountainous forest region, Veerappan was a natural in the jungles that would become his habitat for the rest of his life.
Early hits
It is not known how he took to the life of crime. Locals say that he was inspired by Malayur Mammattiyan, a notorious bandit of the 1950s and 60s, who hailed from Salem, close to Veerappan's native village. Veerappan's first recorded murder was that of Paramasivam, brother of Karuppan who killed Malayur Mammattiyan in an inter-gang war. However, Veerappan came into prominence only after he killed Tamil Nadu forest officer Chidambaram in July 1987. Apparently, Chidambaram was killed because he was an honest forest officer who sought to end sandalwood smuggling.
It seems logical that Veerappan took to sandalwood smuggling and poaching much earlier, probably in the late 1970s, as he was arrested sometime in 1986 by the Karnataka police and lodged in Mysore jail. This is the only time Veerappan has ever been in custody.
A seasoned criminal
Veerappan's crime graph shows that initially he targetted only forest officials who came in the way. They included Karnataka Deputy Conservator of Forests P Srinivas who believed that he could reform the brigand. Veerappan lured him into the forest on the offer of surrender and shot him dead. He left his severed head on a rock to serve as a warning to others. Some local sources say that Srinivas got too close to Veerappan and was also involved with his sister.
The hunt
Following the brutal murder of Srinivas, the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Governments constituted the Special Task Forces in May 1990. From then on, it has been a long battle between the Veerappan gang and the police in which more than 100 persons have been killed by the bandit, at least half of them police personnel.

Veerappan was on the run from 1991 to 96, when the Tamil Nadu STF was headed by Additional Director General of Police Walter Dawaram, known to be a ruthless cop. It was also the period when several innocent tribals were tortured, detained illegally or under TADA or shot dead in fake encounters on charges of supplying ration and extending such other help to Veerappan.
That was when Veerappan turned to quarry owners on both sides of the border for help. The quarry owners had no choice but to cough up "protection money". Apparently, they also supplied explosives with which Veerappan ambushed Tamil Nadu police patrols.
Dawaram claims that during that period, the STF reduced Veerappan gang's strength from 150 to eight. Many find it hard to believe that Veerappan was moving about with such a large entourage and yet was invisible to the police. But the fact remains that Veerappan felt the heat thanks to sustained STF operations and frequent encounters...
Abduction business

Veerappan turned to hostage-taking in December 1994.The first victim was a deputy superintendent of police in Coimbatore district, Chidambaranathan. Veerappan seized him during a visit to his farmhouse in Sirumugai. The compelling reason for this was not just to press for amnesty, which of course Veerappan did, but to get urgent medical aid for his brother Arjunan, who was wounded in an encounter.

Arjunan was allowed to come out, given treatment and detained after the hostage crisis ended with a police raid. Arjunan and two other gang members were reportedly bumped off while being transported to Mysore. The police version is they committed suicide by consuming cyanide.

Veerappan took hostages on two more occasions in 1997 to press for general amnesty, but eventually released them unconditionally and unharmed. The DMK, which was in power from 1996 to 2001, was known for being sympathetic to him but obviously could not give into his demand for amnesty.

Veerappan's pinnacle

It was Dr Rajkumar's abduction in July 2000 which got him national attention. For the first time, it became known that Veerappan had included in his gang members of two dreaded Tamil extremist outfits, the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army and the Tamil National Retrieval Troops, both modeled on the LTTE.

The nexus came to police notice when Veerappan and members of these two gangs launched a joint attack on a police station near Sathyamangalam in December 1998.

But they kept it a closely guarded secret. The nexus came to light when Rajkumar was abducted. Of course Veerappan had to release Rajkumar eventually when it became apparent that the two Governments would resume combing operations. Two major demands put forward by Veerappan concerned the release of five TNLA and TNRT extremists in Tamil Nadu jails and 51 TADA detenus in Mysore jail. The extremists are still in jail. But the TADA detenus have since been released by the Mysore sessions court.

Will he get caught?

Now Veerappan has struck again. Can he ever be caught? The chances are slim. He operates in a 6,000 sq km jungle. His survival instinct is strong. He has been known to be ruthless with his own community if anyone was known to help the police. At the same time, he has been generous with money to those who help him. As a result, he has acquired a Robin Hood image which the police find hard to fight.

While the police have all the latest gadgets, including AK-47 assault rifles and night vision binoculors, Veerappan still carries old hunting rifles. Though in his mid-50s, Veerappan is still physically active. He is constantly on the move, sometimes walking 40 kms a day. The jungle is so thick in some places that the visibility will be hardly 30 ft during daytime. He always pitches camp, for lunch or dinner, at a place which gives him a commanding height.

And finally, his information network has proved to be far more faster and reliable than the police's. He has struck twice in the same place, abducting Nagappa just a little over two years after seizing Rajkumar. And choosing the day when Rajkumar is on a visit to his farm house near Kollegal, the first since his abduction from there, and all police force is concentrated on the actor.

As always with Veerappan, it is a question of chance

Veerappan: Beera of Ravan movie: robin hood for the poor

Veerappan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan
Veerappan leading his men around Namadalli forests
Born	January 18, 1952
Died	October 18, 2004
Alias(es)	Veerappan
Occupation	Elephant poacher Sandalwood smuggler
Spouse	Muthulakshmi
Children	3

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan (Tamil: கூஸ் முனிசாமி வீரப்பன், Kannada: ಕೂಸ್ ಮುನಿಸ್ವಾಮೀ ವೀರಪ್ಪನ್ ಗೌಂದೆರ್, January 18, 1952 – October 18, 2004) commonly known as Veerappan, was a notorious dacoit, or robber bandit, of India. He was active for a period of years in a broad swath of land covering 6,000 km² in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He long defied three state governments andIndian Border security paramilitary forces, maintaining at one point a small army numbering in the hundreds.

He was wanted for killing approximately 184 people,^[1] including senior police and forest officials, poaching about 200 elephants, andsmuggling ivory worth US$2,600,000 and sandalwood of about 10,000 tonnes worth US$22,000,000. He had a price of Rs. 50 million (Rs. 5crore or US$1.1 million) on his head, but evaded arrest for 20 years until he was killed by police in 2004.^[2]

Contents  [hide] 1 Early years 2 Robin Hood image 3 Special task force 4 Religion 5 Death 6 Timeline 7 Cultural references 8 References 9 See also

[edit]Early years

Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, alias Veerappan, was born at 08:17 hrs (IST) on January 18, 1952 in Gopinatham village in Karnatakato a family of cattle-grazers. He was commonly known as "Molakai" in his childhood days by the locals.

His gang of forty members indulged in killing and kidnapping, taking revenge^{[citation needed]} for what government officials had done to the local people who lived near the forest. Most of his victims were police, forest officials, informers and movie stars. He felt the police were responsible for the suicides of his sister Mala and brother Arjunan. He was also known for his kidnapping of prominent people for ransoming, starting with a forest official in 1987. He trapped and brutally killed senior Indian Forest Service [IFS] officer Pandillapalli Srinivas on November 10, 1991 in the Namadalli forests of Kollegal taluk in Chamarajanagr district. He also killed Harikrishna IPS, senior police officer, Shakeel Ahmed, along with others on August 14, 1992 near Meenyam of Kollegal taluk by ambushing the police party in a raid.

He married Muthulakshmi, in 1991. He had three daughters Yuvarani,Prabha and another.

[edit]Robin Hood image

Veerappan had a Robin Hood-like image as a social bandit among some villagers adjoining his native village Gopinatham.^[3] Sympathetic villagers are said to have covered for him and kept him informed of police activity. They also provided food and clothing to the gang. However, the villagers said they helped him out of fear of reprisal, and that Veerappan helped the villagers with money only to protect himself from being captured. Veerappan is known for being ruthless to villagers who provided the police with information.

[edit]Special task force

In 1990, the Karnataka government formed a Special Task Force to capture him and put an end to the menace. Soon after, the task force captured several of Veerappan's men. In February 1992, the special task force killed his lieutenant Gurunathan. SI Shakeel Ahmed was single-handedly responsible for Gurunathan's capture. Three months later, Veerappan attacked the Ramapura police station of Kollegal taluk in the Chamarajanagar district, killing several policemen and capturing arms and ammunition. In August 1992, Veerappan laid a trap for SP Harikrishna and SI Shakeel Ahmed and killed them along with four others. In 1993, the task force arrested his wife Muthulakshmi.

Indian actor Dr. Rajkumar was kidnapped by Veerappan in 2000. He was held for more than 100 days before his eventual release.

On February 17, 1996, he ambushed a team of Tamil Nadu STF personnel from a high ground while they were on their patrol vehicle. The police were able to counter attack and called for backup. The ambush which took place in the evening claimed the life of a Police Constable named Selvaraj from Madurai and seriously injured other police officers including Police officer Tamilselvan. By the time the Karnataka police arrived the bandit and his crew had fled.

A little over a year later, on July 12, 1997, he kidnapped nine forest officials at a place called Marapala in the Burude forests of Kollegala taluk,Chamarajanagara district. He made demands for releasing them, including amnesty, but none were met. The hostages were released without being harmed in the last week of August the same year.

On July 30, 2000, Veerappan kidnapped the famed southern Indian film star Rajkumar.^[4] This placed the Karnataka government in a political dilemma of whether or not to call in the army. The decision was that to do so would set a poor precedent. Thus, Rajkumar was held for 109 days and was finally released without harm on November 15, 2000. There were allegations by several people that about 500,000,000 rupees were paid to Veerappan for the safe release.^[5] A police official later suggested that 300,000,000 rupees ($6.5m) had been paid for his release.^[4]

On August 25, 2002, Veerappan abducted H. Nagappa, a former state minister. Nagappa was found dead in the forest three months later. The reward offered by the Karnataka state government was increased to 50,000,000 rupees (US $1.25 million at that time.

[edit]Religion

Veerappan attended the Bannari Amman Kovil temple regularly and was known to be a strong devotee to Kali, a Goddess in Hinduism. It is also said that he built a Kali temple. Veerappan belonged to the Vanniar caste. Some people of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), which is based on that Vanniar caste, hoisted a half-mast flag of their party on the death of Veerappan.

[edit]Death

On October 18, 2004, following a tip-off, Veerappan and his two associates were allegedly killed after being arrested by the Tamil Nadu State Special Task Force, near the village ofPapparapatti in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu.^[6] Veerappan's wife claimed that he had been arrested a few days earlier, interrogated and killed by the police (Veerappan had repeatedly threatened, if ever brought to trial, to point a finger at every policeman and politician he had bribed to ensure his three-decade long run from justice).

According to media reports, postmortem photos of Veerappan with a bullet hole above his left eye seemed to contradict the official story that the STF, lying in ambush, stopped the ambulance Veerappan and his gang was traveling in, offered them surrender and gunned them down when someone from inside the van opened fire.

Veerappan was buried in the village of Moolakadu, Tamil Nadu. The police said they did not let the burial take place in his home village in Karnataka, fearing the large crowds that had gathered there. Although the police had planned for a cremation, this was objected to by the relatives of Veerappan suggesting that exhumation would be required if there was ever a subsequent investigation into his death. Thousands of people turned out for the funeral, while others were kept away from the burial ground by heavy security.^[7]

Rumors persist that Veerappan may have stashed vast sums of money and treasure, in secret forest caves, which remain undiscovered.^[8]

[edit]Timeline

Timeline of Veerappan's activities:^[9]

• 1970
  • Joined a gang of poachers.
• 1986
  • Arrested and lodged at Boodipada forest guest house but escaped under mysterious circumstances (reportedly bribed a police officer).
• 1987
  • Kidnapped and hacked forest officer Chidambaram. Kidnapped and killed 5 members of a rival gang.
• 1989
  • Killed 3 forest personnel of Begur forest range.
• 1990
  • Killed 2 police personnel as revenge for killing of 2 members of his gang.
  • Killed another 13 police officials of Karnataka. The Karnataka government constitutes Special Task Force (STF) to catch Veerappan.
  • Shot and beheaded Karnataka deputy conservator of forests, Srinivas as revenge for Veerappan's sister Mala's suicide (the victim's head was traced 3 years later)
• 1992
  • Attacked a police station in Ramapura, killing thirteen policemen and stealing arms and ammunition. STF killed 2 gang members in retaliation
  • Trapped STF police official Harikrishna, SI Shakeel Ahmed and 25 constables through a false informant. Killed 29 of the party using hand grenades and bombs.
• 1993
  • Blew up a bus of 43 passengers including police and civilians, using a landmine.
  • Killed 17 policemen of Karnataka special SP Gopal Hosur's party.
  • Tamil Nadu government deploys Border Security Force (BSF)
  • Joint operations of BSF and STF arrested 9 gang members and killed 6. Three policemen were killed.
  • Veerappan requested amnesty. Victim's relatives opposed any government negotiations
• 1996
  • Killed a police informer.
  • Killed another 19 police personnel.
  • Assassinated police official Tamilselvan and killed a constable as revenge for the suicide of Veerappan's brother Arjunan in police custody.
• 1997
  • The gang kidnapped wildlife photographers Senani & Krupakar.
  • Apparently killed heir apparent 'Baby' Veerappan.
  • Kidnapped and released another photographer Krupakar.
  • Kidnapped and executed 9 Karnataka Forest officials from Burude forests.
• 2000
  • Kidnapped Kannada film actor Dr. Rajkumar. Released him after 109 days (ransomed).
• 2002
  • Kidnapped and allegedly killed former Karnataka minister H. Nagappa. There are other sources, including police of Karnataka who claim that the bullet in the body of the former minister was from a rifle used by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (possibly the rifle used was stolen from Tamil Nadu task force).
• 2004
  • Killed, presumably by Tamil Nadu State Special Task Force members

[edit]Cultural references

Veerappan was the inspiration behind some films and their characters.

• The character of Veeran (played by Govind Namdeo) in the Hindi film Sarfarosh (1999). The character is of a terrorist who arms the forest-dwellers with rifles.
• The character of Durga Narayan Chaudhary (played by Sushant Singh) in the Hindi film Jungle (2000). The character is of a forest gang leader who kidnaps a bus full of passengers, kills some of them and holds others to ransom.
• Veerappan, the film directed by Prashant Pandey and produced by Ram Gopal Varma is under production currently. ^[10][11][12]
• There were scores of regional films in Tamil and Kannada than had Veerappan as its antagonist like the Tamil movie Captain Prabhakaran and Kannada movie Veerappan, all of which were super hits.
• Makkal TV had aired TV serial based on Veerappan's life called Santhanakaadu (means Sandal Wood forest in Tamil). Karate Raja played Veerappan and Goutham directed the serial. The serials sheds some light on the positive side of Veerapan as well as their own presumed version of how Veerapan was killed which is by poisoning.
• The Malayalam Actor Mamukkoya did the title role in the comedy film Korappan, the great (2001) which depicted him as Veerappan.
• The character of Veeraiya(played by Vikram) in the Tamil film Raavanan(2010) resembles strongly to the life of Veerappan.

Books on Veerappan

• Veerappan: India's Most Wanted Man by Sunaad Raghuram. The film Let's Kill Veerappan is based on a chapter in this book.

Mind game to gundown veerappna: Vilan movie SP plans his wife to go back to beera

"It was our turn to deceive Veerappan"

By G. Satyamurty and V.S. Palaniappan

— Photo: K. Ananthan

COIMBATORE, OCT. 20. "It was a psychological operation. Our low-profile during the past 10 months, lackadaisical appearance and apparent ineptitude lulled Veerappan into complacency," the Commandant of the Special Task Force, Additional Director-General of Police K. Vijay Kumar, said today.

"It was the escalation of the level of complacency that made him enter the plains" knowing fully well that "he would be virtually a fish out of water."

In an interview The Hindu at the Sathyamangalam STF camp, about 90 km from here, Mr. Vijay Kumar recounted the factors that contributed to the downfall of the elusive brigand on Monday night.

"We deliberately kept a low profile. It was a conscious decision," he said. Another important decision was "not to be a bull in a china shop. There would be only specific arrests and specific surgical action. We ensured that the protracted disappointment and frustration never led to any distraction among the rank and file of the force. In the last 15 years, we had been deceived by an overcautious Veerappan and it was our turn to deceive and lure him to the trap."

Informants activated

After taking over as the STF chief last December, Mr. Vijay Kumar tried to revive "the half-dormant assets" (informants). By March-end, substantial intelligence was available regarding Veerappan's movements. The input revealed that he was "quite comfortable" in the M.M. Hills and its surroundings, especially around Nallur that was near his native place, Gopinatham. "He had very loyal people in that region, who would even lay down their lives for him."

While it was decided to "push him into thin forests in the east" (the Pennagaram and Yemanur forests), another plan to "wean away" his lieutenant, Chandre Gowda, using his affection towards his ailing parents was abandoned by May-June due to certain reasons. The eastern jungles were made a free ground for Veerappan to move about and he was allowed to build his contacts. But, by then "we had dumped or inundated our reinforcements on all sides, preventing his movement in other directions. To deceive him, we had even conducted a couple of raids and patrols in pockets where he was hiding and returned with empty hands, just to give an impression that the STF was still not able to trace his whereabouts."

"By then we came to know that Veerappan was suffering from some eye ailment. But then he was hesitant to come to the plains for treatment. To make it uncomfortable for him, we peppered the entire Nallur region — from Nallur to the Cauvery, for a stretch of 20 to 25 km — with 30 to 40 groups of STF personnel, who would be present all the time."

Combing operations

Mr. Vijay Kumar said this forced the bandit to seek a different hideout. "We were holding the enemy's ground. I would consider this as the most important strategy that contributed to his fall."

Later, the STF, which was present in the Pennagaram forests, even up to Natrampalayam was directed to go north. Thus, a virtually "free zone" was created for him "without making him suspicious." Instead of regular combing operations, once in a way a sort of "bush bashing" was undertaken so that he would believe that "vacating the zone by the STF was not deliberate."

Mr. Vijay Kumar admitted that the STF's knowledge of "internal squabbles" in the gang (with Veerappan losing trust in Sethukuzhi Govindan because of an ego clash over leadership and also in Sethumani for his inconsistency in staying in the jungles) helped. Velladurai, an STF Sub-Inspector, infiltrated the gang, posing as a sympathiser of an armed revolution, and inveigled the gang to the ambulance. He succeeded in assuring all help, including manpower, logistics and even asylum, if required to the bandits. Veerappan was favourably disposed towards such armed revolutionaries and had the backing of like-minded persons in his community, especially in the Dharmapuri, Salem and Cuddalore belt.

Mr. Vijay Kumar said the help to Veerappan from villagers had come down of late. "But we never used the medical camps that we organised and the various welfare measures for the tribal people to tap intelligence. We never expected anything in return but it helped in considerably reducing his support base."

Veerappan shot dead: anti climax in ravan

Veerappan shot dead

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

A file photo of the elusive forest brigand Veerappan. — AP

CHENNAI, OCT. 18 . The elusive forest brigand Veerappan was shot dead by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF) late tonight. At least four persons, including possibly his close aide, Sethukuzhi Govindan, are believed to have been killed in the exchange of fire in jungles in Dharmapuri district, which borders Karnataka.

Police sources here said that the bodies of those killed in the shootout were being brought to the plains and could reach Dharmapuri early on Tuesday morning. The incident took place between Padi and Papparapatti around 11 p.m. The sources said they had information that apart from Govindan, Madhegowda and a Tamil extremist, Sethumani alias Sethumalai, were killed. An STF party led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police carried out the operation, apparently on a tip-off that Veerappan was being rushed in an ambulance for medical attention to the plains.

The hunt for the 60-62 year-old Veerappan had gone on for well over a decade and was intensified whenever he indulged in brutal killings or hostage taking. Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar was among his most recent hostages. Despite an all-out effort by both the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Governments, the brigand was elusive all these years. At least about 130 persons were killed as also 2,000 elephants in the Veerappan gang's operations in the jungles between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Soon after Mr. Rajkumar's release, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu intensified their operations and the two STFs were assisted by the Central Reserve Police Force along with a team of commandos. But the operations proved futile.

The police in both States maintained that it was difficult to track him down in the dense 6,000-sq km forest area. After committing a crime in Tamil Nadu, he would get into the jungles of Karnataka or even Kerala. Though he was reportedly sighted on a few occasions, the STF could not get him dead or alive. After a killing incident in 1987, Veerappan became notorious, but the real hunt was stated to have begun from 1990. Since then, there had been periodic episodes of kidnap, demands, negotiations and intensified search, and then no news at all.

Veerappan earned notoriety as a sandalwood smuggler, in addition to looting ivory after killing elephants. When the laws governing forest wealth were tightened, Veerappan took to hostage-taking for ransom. He used the funds to keep himself going and buy provisions and other requirements from villagers. Most of the villages in the jungles were almost under his control — some found his money useful and others were too afraid of tipping off the police. Informers were invariably killed.

Initially, the brigand was supposed to command a gang of over 100 persons. But, over the years, due to the frequent police operations and the necessity of keeping the numbers small to avoid detection while in movement, it dwindled to anywhere between four and six.

What caused concern to the Tamil Nadu police was the involvement of some Tamils extremist groups with the brigand. This was evident during the Rajkumar kidnap drama in 2000.

Though there were offers by the Tamil Nationalist Movement leader, P. Nedumaran, and R.R. Gopal, Editor,Nakkheeran, to negotiate his surrender, this was not possible because no government was prepared to grant Veerappan an unconditional pardon, which he demanded.

The Tamil Nadu STF is currently headed by the Additional Director-General of Police, K. Vijay Kumar, who was earlier Chennai Police Commissioner. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, has congratulated the STF on the operation. She hailed the police for their determined effort at bringing the curtains down on the dreaded smuggler.

Good news: Jayalalithaa

Ms. Jayalalithaa said: "It is with the sense of great pride and fulfilment that I wish to announce to the people of Tamil Nadu the good news that the notorious forest brigand, bandit, murderer and dacoit Veerappan, along with his entire gang has been shot dead by the STF on October 18 in a daring and intrepid operation, bringing to a conclusion the manhunt that has been on for nearly two decades."

She congratulated every member of the STF and the Tamil Nadu police for their valour and professionalism.