Veerappan's capture

The end of forest brigand, Veerappan brought in a sigh of relief not only to the police but also to scores of people across the nation who were terrorized by the brigand.

The end of forest brigand, Veerappan brought in a sigh of relief and joy not only to the Special Task Force, police and forest personnel in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu but scores of people across the southern states and the nation in general who were terrorized by the brigand for the last four decades.

One of the biggest manhunts in recent history came to a tame end on October 18 when the brigand, Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, fell to the bullets of waiting Special Task Force (STF) at Paparapatti village in Dharamapuri in Tamil Nadu on October 18. Veerappan, 60, became history in an encounter that lasted barely 20 minutes.

For the STF led by Additional Director-General of Police K Vijay Kumar it was really a big moment as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced a cash reward of Rs 300,000 to each of the 752 STF personnel, a housing plot and an immediate accelerated promotion.

Veerappan, the brigand who eluded police dragnet in the forests along the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala for over four decades was done the moment he stepped out of the forest in an ambulance for treatment of cataract.

Charged with the killing of 120 persons, including senior police and forest officials, and 2000 elephants for their tusks, Veerappan is said to have made about Rs 2000 crore through smuggling and kidnappings. A sum of Rs 100 crore was spend in tracking the brigand during the last two decades while about 1000 police personnel were looking out for him round the clock.

- Prakash Pillai