Even today, the name ‘Veerappan’ sets people thinking about his infamous exploits in the world of smuggling and poaching and wondering how he managed to do it right under the police’s nose and evaded arrest for so long. In fact, the recent blockbuster movie, ‘Pushpa’ on red sandalwood smuggling has rekindled the curiosity for the past-era king of sandalwood smuggling.
His ring was not just confined to smuggling, some major charges on him include kidnapping of major politicians for ransom and poaching of 2000 elephants, killing around 184 people, 97 of whom were police and forest officials. It is said, he even killed his newborn daughter!
At one point in time, the two southern states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were literally terrorized by Veerappan, until IPS officer K Vijay Kumar came into the scene. The officer brought an end to Veerappan’s story!
Indian Masterminds takes you through the ‘Nab Veerappan’ journey, by highlighting the book written by Mr. K Vijay Kumar, IPS, the man who led the operation.
A WISH GRANTED
Since the beginning of his career as an IPS officer in 1975, Mr. Kumar had been a ‘man of action’, with postings from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir, and from Rajiv Gandhi to J Jayalalithaa’s security details. But it was in the June of 2001 that he got the job he had long wished for.
The officer had been reading about Veerappan and his ruthless killings ever since the latter became famous as the ‘mustachioed bandit of South India.’ Reading about Special Task Force’s advances to catch the man, made Mr. Kumar keen to join the hunt. His wish came true in June 2001 when he was called to head the Tamil Nadu STF as the Joint Chief and, thus, began a 20-year long chase between the officer and Veerappan, which ended with the bandit’s killing.
THE MAKING OF VEERAPPAN
Koose Muniswamy Veerappan was born in the village of Gopinatham bordering a deciduous forest, over which he would later reign. Being introduced to guns at a very young age, he became a perfect shooter and was charged with poaching when he was just a boy. Fleeing the authorities, he took refuge in the jungle, and the rest was history.
Veerappan first came in the news when he murdered Chidambaram, a forest officer, who was against his illegal trade. In 1991, he shot at P Srinivas, a Karnataka Deputy Conservator of Forests, and beheaded him in a Kali temple. During the subsequent years, he killed many police officers and tribal people, who he felt, were against him.
OPERATON COCOON
Operation Cocoon is considered one of the most expensive operations of its kind in Indian history, costing ₹1 crore over the years. Mr. Kumar led the operation and gathered a team of his best men. Over 35 police officers disguised as masons, hawkers, and local staff hid in the village near the forest that Veerappan was roaming around.
Due to Veerappan’s extensive knowledge of the forest terrain, they planned to bring him out of the forest. Word came that he was planning to receive medical treatment for his eye and needed to leave the forest. The ambulance that he was taken in was being driven by a police officer and he was also accompanied by a police officer who had infiltrated Veerappan’s gang.
According to the police, the bandit and his men were first given a chance to surrender but they refused to do so and opened fire at the STF personnel. The STF retaliated with grenades and gunfire. Veerappan was killed in this firefight on 18th October 2004.
CHASING THE BRIGAND
Thirteen years later, Mr. Kumar, responsible for leading the team that ended the Veerappan saga, has come out with Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand, a compact, insightful, and carefully constructed chronicle of the 20-year-long chase.
The book narrates every incident in the two-decade-long fight between STF and Veerappan. The story in the book dates all the way to the smuggler’s early days. Most chapters begin with STF stepping inside the jungle to find Veerappan and end with the bandit cleverly escaping them. However, the STF kept up their morale and never gave up. At one point, it had become a bachelors’ collective with most of the members having vowed not to get married until Veerappan was punished.
“Incidentally, the only child to have died at Veerappan’s hands was his own newborn daughter. Apparently, Veerappan was shaken after a close shave with the authorities and was not about to let anything compromise his location in the jungle. To him, a crying newborn baby was a liability. A simple gesture to the midwife, who delivered the child, did the job. This ruthless sacrifice is said to have stunned his gang of 100 or so jungle dwellers and ensured their utter loyalty,” Mr. Kumar mentions in his book.
INSIGHT INTO THE EVENTS
The retired officer’s book gives a fresh angle to events from the bandit’s life. Veerappan had managed to cultivate a fan base and his followers considered him ‘Robin Hood’ due to which there was chaos after his death.
In his book, the officer gives a balanced and mature analysis of Veerappan’s life and choices which reveals the real face of the bandit as a cunning outlaw with great survival tactics and leadership qualities.
A record of one of the longest-running police operations in the country, the book elaborates how the STF, faced with battling their enemy in his own lair, began thinking like the brigand himself. The officer explains each operation in an elaborate, clear, and entertaining manner.
Mr. Kumar has dedicated the book to the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Late J Jayalalitha, and called her a great professional who knew better than to interfere in the work of the armed forces. The book is also a testament to the courage of STF officers who lost their lives fighting Veerappan. Every single chapter brings out a tale of heroic bravery under desperate circumstances.
Featuring a 20-year chase between honest officers, politicians, a ruthless bandit, and hapless victims caught in the line of fire, all set against the backdrop of the dark and dense forests of South India – the book makes a compelling read and thrills its readers with incidents, otherwise unknown.
