Veerappan
|
|
Koose Muniswamy Veerappan (c. January 18, 1952–October 18, 2004) was a legendary Tamil bandit in India. He resided and carried out his activities in the Biligirirangan and Malai Mahadeswara Hills and Sathyamangalam and Gundiyal forests, covering 6,000 sq km in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. He was wanted for killing about 124 people, including senior police and forest officials, poaching about 200 elephants, and smuggling ivory worth $2.6 m and sandalwood of about 10,000 tonnes worth $22 m. He had a price of Rs. 50 million (5 Crore or $1.1 million) on his head, but evaded arrest for 20 years until he was killed by police in 2004. Unofficially, it is estimated that about 200 crore Rupees (20 crore per year) was spent over ten years by the government in order to capture him.
Veerap1.jpg
Veerappan was born in Gopinatham village in Karnataka to a family of cattle-grazers. At age eighteen he joined a gang of poachers. Over the years, he eliminated members of a rival gang, and controlled the entire forest belt. He made money smuggling sandalwood trees and killing tuskers for ivory. Although he is widely believed to have killed 2,000 elephants, according to Sunaad Raghuram, Veerappan's biographer who spent four years interviewing people, Veerappan could not have killed more than 200.
His gang of forty members indulged in killing and abduction. Most of his victims were police and forest officials and informers. He felt the police were responsible for the suicides of his sister Mari and brother Arjunan. He was also known to kidnap prominent people to make demands, starting with a forest official in 1987.
He married Muthulakshmi, a shepherdess, in 1991. He had three daughters, Yuvarani, Prabha and another, whom he allegedly strangled to death.
Veerappan had a Robin Hood-like image among the villagers adjoining his native village Gopinatham. The villagers acted as cover to his activities and informed him of police activities. They also provided food and clothing to the gang. However it has been suggested that the villagers helped him because of fear, and that Veerappan helped the villagers with money only to protect himself from being captured. He was very ruthless to villagers who provided the police with information.
He was arrested in 1986, but escaped. According to wildlife photographer Krupakar, who was once kidnapped by the bandit, he paid a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh (Rs. 100,000, about US $2,000) to a policeman to help him escape.
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. A few months later, Veerappan attacked a police station, killed several policemen and captured arms and ammunition. This became a regular phenomenon. In 1993, the task force arrested his wife Muthulakshmi. In July 1993, he reportedly strangled his infant daughter, fearing that the child's crying could attract police attention.
Veerappan had impeccable junglecraft skills. Many have said that his mimicry of birds and deer helped him evade capture. He is quoted as having watched The Godfather over 100 times. He was a surprisingly refined man, with a strong penchant for Carnatic music. He was said to be religious and prayed everyday. He was fond of his handlebar moustache and tended to it as a daily routine. He regularly made his communications to the government through emissary R.R. Gopal requesting for amnesty. He desired to start an orphanage and to join politics, inspired by bandit-turned-Member of Parliament Phoolan Devi.
On July 30, 2000 Veerappan abducted popular Kannada film actor Dr. Rajkumar from his ancestral home. This event put the Karnataka government in a political dilemma of whether or not to call in the army. The decision was reached that to do so would set a poor precedent. Rajkumar was released without harm on November 15, 2000, after 109 days in captivity.
On August 25, 2002 Veerappan kidnapped 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 million rupees (US $1.1 million).
On October 18, 2004, following a tip-off, Veerappan and two associates were allegedly ambushed and gunned down by Tamil Nadu State Special Task Force near the village of Paparapatti in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. His third associate managed to escape. However, the next day his widow 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 policemen and politician he had had to bribe to ensure his three-decade long run from justice).
According to media reports, post-mortem photos of Veerappan with a bullet hole above his left eye, seemed to contradict with the official story that the STF, lying in ambush, stopped the ambulance van Veerappan and his gang was travelling in, offered them to surrender and gunned them down when someone from inside the van opened fire. Another possibility, voiced by psychologist, Dr. P. Kodandaram, is that Veerappan and his associates may have committed a collective suicide inside the van when faced with surrender.
Veerappan was buried at 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 investigation into his death. Thousands of people turned out for the funeral anyway while others had to be kept away from the burial ground by heavy security.
| Contents |
Criminal timeline
- 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 4 police officials of Karnataka. Karnataka government constituted Special Task Force (STF) to nab Veerappan.
- Shot and beheaded Karnataka deputy conservator of forests, Srinivas as revenge for Veerappan's sister Mari's suicide (the victim's head was traced 3 years later)
- 1992 - Attacked a police station in Ramapura, killing five policemen and stealing arms and ammunition. STF killed 4 gang members in retaliation
- Trapped STF police official Harikrishna, Shakil Ahmed and 25 constables through a false informer. Killed 6 of the party using hand grenades and bombs.
- 1993 - Blew up a bus of 22 passengers including police and civilians, using landmine
- Killed 6 policemen of Karnataka special SP Gopal Hosur's party
- Tamil Nadu government deploys Border Security Force (BSF)
- Joint operations of BSF and STF arrested 19 gang members and killed 6. 3 policemen were killed
- Veerappan requested for amnesty. Victim's relatives opposed any government negotiations
- 1996 - Killed a police informer.
- Killed another 10 police personnel.
- Attacked police official Tamilselvan and killed a constable as revenge for the suicide of Veerappan's brother Arjunan in police custody.
- 1997 - Apparently killed heir apparent 'Baby' Veerappan.
- 1997, October - Kidnapped and later released wildlife photographers Krupakar and Senani
- 2000 - Kidnapped Kannada film actor Dr. Rajkumar. Released him after 109 days (ransomed).
- 2002 - Kidnapped and allegedly killed former Karnataka minister H. Nagappa. But 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
- 2004 - Killed by Tamil Nadu State Special Task Force members
Controversies
Death
| Causes of death
| Claimants
| Arguments
|
| encounter
| police / government
|
|
| gangmember
|
| |
| suicide
| Muthulakshmi, Wife
|
|
| murder
|
|
Human rights violation
In the early 2000, there was much controversy over the way police personal enquires the local people. It has been said that police poured in spice powders in the vaginas of women and tortured many people both physically and sexually. The commission developed to inquire into the allegation gone silently.
Missionary school dropped Prabha
After the death of Veerappan, the missionary school where his daughter Prabha studied said that they won't take her back. This statement created an angry stir against to the management by human rights activists. Because of the external pressure, the school later agreed to take her back.
Trivia
- Veerappan belongs to the Gounder (Vanniar?) caste. Some people of Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), or Working People's Party, which is based on that Vanniar caste, hoisted half-mast flag of their party on the death of Veerappan.
- When R. Gopal, editor of Nakeeran Tamil weekly popularly known Nakeeran Gopal first interviewed Veerappan in his hideout, he almost got celebrity status and the video tape became very popular.
- Veerappan is a sincere devotee of Kali. It is also said that he built a Kali temple.
- Because of Veerappan's death, Ram Gopal Varma's next film Lets Catch Veerappan is now re-titled to Lets Kill Veerappan Now.
- It is said that Veerappan lead a disciplinary life. However by 2002, a woman widowed by Veerappan shocked the media by telling that she gave herself to Veerappan because of his help towards her life.
- When Veerappan kidnapped Raj Kumar, the situation resulted in an ethnic problem; it is roughly estimated that about 27 lakhs worth of Tamil people's properties were damaged by Karnataka people.
Representation in the arts
Veerappan was the inspiration behind some films and their characters.
- The character of Veeran (played by Govind Namdev) in Sarfarosh (1999). The character is of a terrorist who arms the forest-dwellers with rifles.
- The character of Durga Narayan (played by Sushant Singh) in 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.
- Let's Catch Veerappan (in production) by Ram Gopal Varma about a real-life story of three villagers who attempt to win the reward by providing information to the police
- There were scores of regional films in Tamil and Kannada than had Veerappan as its antagonist like the Tamil movie Captain Prabhakaran & kannada movie Veerappan all of which were super hits.
Books on Veerappan:
- Veerappan: India's Most Wanted Man by Sunaad Raghuram. The film Let's Catch Veerappan is based on a chapter in this book.
See also
External links
- "Veerappan, the man behind 120 murders" (http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/specials/veer/rise1.html): Hindustan Times feature
- BBC: Veerappan remains hero to poor (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3762494.stm)
- Sify.com Bio and Timeline (http://sify.com/news/othernews/fullstory.php?id=13592540)
- Timeline of Veerappan's career (http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/criminals/veerappan/)
- News archives of Dr. Rajkumar kidnap incident (http://newsarchives.indiainfo.com/spotlight/rajkumar)
- CNN: Police kill India's 'Robin Hood' (http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/10/18/india.bandit/index.html)
- Independent: Koose Muniswamy Veerappan: The Bandit King (http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=573885)de:Koose Muniswamy Veerappan