Volume21Issue23,Nov.

0619,2004
India'sNationalMagazine
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COVERSTORY

TheendofVeerappan
RAVISHARMA
inDharmapuriandSatyamangalam
G.SATYAMURTYandV.S.PALANIAPPAN
inCoimbatore
TheSpecialTaskForceofTamilNadugunsdowntheforestbrigandandhisassociatesinameticulously
plannedintelligenceoperationbringingtoanendtwodecadesofhunt.
K.ANANTHAN

STFchiefK.VijayKumarwithhisKarnatakacounterpartJyotiPrakashMirji(left),Superintendentof
PoliceN.K.Senthamaraikannan(thirdleft),Saravanan(whiteshirt),whodrovethe`ambulance',and
Vellaidurai(standing,secondleft)atapressbriefinginDharmapurionOctober19,adayafterthekilling
ofVeerappan.
THESeventhDayMatriculationSchoolinPadiinTamilNadu,around12kmfromDharmapuriontheroadto
Papparapatti,wasonthenightofOctober18witnesstotheendgameofoneofindependentIndia'smostwanted
criminalsforest brigand Veerappan. On that fateful night, vehicular traffic on the road which links National
Highway 7 (Bangalore to Dharmapuri) and the PalakkoduPennagaram road, came to a halt at around 1030
p.m.Whatfollowedforthenext25minutesisalreadythesubjectoffolkloreandconjecture.
TravellingontheroadtowardsDharmapuriinanambulance,emblazonedwiththewords`SKSHospital,Selam'
and driven by a policeman in plainclothes, was Veerappan, his longtime lieutenant Sethukuli Govindan, and
twoothersChandreGowda,anoutlawwhohadbeenwithVeerappanforanumberofyears,andSethumani,an
extremistbelongingtotheTamilNaduLiberationArmy.TheyhaddescendedfromthePikkiliHillsandwaited
tobepickedupfromamaizefieldontheoutskirtsofPapparapatti(whichisasmalltown,around20kmwestof
Dharmapuri).
AlsosittinginthevehiclenexttodriverSaravananwasVellaidurai,asubinspectorwiththeTamilNaduPolice
whohadbeenrecentlyrecruitedintotheTamilNaduSpecialTaskForce(STF),whichhadbeensearchingfor
theVeerappangangsinceitsestablishmentin1990.Theambulancewasinfactapolicevehiclethathadbeen
redone.Itwasalsofittedwitharemotesurveillancecamera,whichwassupposedtosendpicturesbacktothe
STF about the movement of the gangsters from the fringes of the forest to the plain but it malfunctioned.
OperationCocoon,ledbytheAdditionalDirectorGeneralofPoliceandCommanderoftheTamilNaduSTF,K.
VijayKumar,wasenteringitsfinalphase.
Asugarcaneladenlorry,givingtheimpressionthatitwasheadingtowardsthesugarmillatnearbyPalakkodu,
wasparkedinthemiddleoftheroad,diagonallyoppositetheschool.Knownasa`seedbox'inmilitary/ambush
parlance,thelorrywasactuallymeanttoblockthepathoftheoncomingambulance.A`mobilebunker'(another
lorry) replete with sandbags and armed STF commandos, which was to be the main firing zone, was parked,
again,diagonallyoppositetheschool,ata45angle.ArmedSTFcommandoswerealsopositionedatopthe
schoolbuilding.Withthe20footwideroadwellcoveredmobilebunkertothenorth,seedboxtotheeastand
theschooltothesouththe`prey',asitdroveinfromthewest,wouldbecocooned.Athirdvehiclewasparked
elsewherewithreinforcements.
Oncein`thezone',theambulancewasintercepted.Andevenasthefugitiveswereaskedoveramegaphoneto
surrender,SaravananandVellaiduraimeltedawayintothedarkness.Whentheganggreetedthesecondcallfor
surrenderwithgunfire,theSTFopenedfireontheambulance.AccordingtotheSTF,thefouroutlawswereshot
deadinthegunbattlethatfollowed.WhileVeerappanwasfounddead,theothersdiedonthewaytohospital.
FoundintheambulanceweretwoAK47s,anonballistic.12boreRemingtonpumpactiongun,aselfloading
rifle,twohandgrenadesandaroundRs.3.5lakhsincash.
HowdidVeerappandie?Didheactuallydieinthegunbattle?Ordidhecommitsuicide,assomereportsclaim?
Ordidheaskhisfellowbanditstoshoothim,knowingtherewasnowayout?
According to one of the doctors who performed the postmortem on the bodies at the Dharmapuri General

Hospital,Veerappancouldnothavecommittedsuicide,buthecouldhavebeenshotbyhisfellowbandits.Inthe
doctor's estimate, the fatal bullet could have been shot from a distance of 10 to 15 feet. Veerappan is said to
havesufferedtwopuncturewoundstothehead(mostprobablydeliveredbyanAK47).Whileonebullethad
exited,theotherwasembedded.Therewerealsoaround10superficialwoundsinthetrunkregion.Sethukuli
Govindan, from whose body seven bullets were recovered, had also suffered around 20 superficial wounds.
WhiletwobulletswererecoveredfromthetrunkregionofChandreGowda'sbody,nobulletswererecovered
fromSethumani'sbody.
Said the doctor: "All the four were in good physical shape. Veerappan appeared to be aged around 55, while
Govindanwasinhismidthirties.Veerappan'slefteyehadafullymaturecataract.Thereasonwhythelefteye
regionhadbeenforcedinbytwocentimetreswasthedamagethatthefrontalregionoftheskullhadsuffered
whenitwashitbythebullet."
Deathinallthefourcases,accordingtothedoctor,wascausedbybulletinjuries.Thedoctoralsodisclosedthat
the bullets were being sent for analysis at the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Chennai. "By studying the
bullets'fingerprintsandcomparingthemwiththegunsthatwereusedbothbythegangandbytheSTF,ballistic
expertswillbeabletotelluswhichbulletwasfiredfromwhichgun.Thiscouldanswerthequestionwhether
VeerappanwasshotbytheSTForbyoneofhisownmen."Commentingontheprecisenatureofthebulletin
Veerappan'shead,VijayKumarsaidthatthiscouldhavehappenedbecauseofthefactthatthemainfiringzone
washardlytwometresfromtheambulance.
According to Vijay Kumar, three core teams of 22 commandos armed with .9 mm submachine guns (which
havearangeof30metresandareequippedwithsnubnosedbullets),AK47s(whichhavearapidrateoffire)
and shotguns had taken up positions at Padi. Also present at the shootout, besides Vijay Kumar, were Tamil
NaduSTFofficersSuperintendentsofPoliceN.K.Senthamaraikannan(whoiscreditedwithmastermindingthe
intelligence aspects and coordinating the operation), K. Shanmugavelu and P. Chinnasamy, Deputy
SuperintendentsofPoliceN.ThirunavukkarasuandHussain,andInspectorsN.RajarajanandMohanNawaz.
TheSTFhadblockedfiveentrypointsandwerepreparedtotakeonthegangevenifVeerappanhadinsistedon
takingarouteotherthantheonetowardsPadi.
Aquestionthathasbeenraisediswhydidsofewbullets(hardlya100)hittheambulanceandthefourbandits,
despitethefactthat22menhadalmostemptiedtheirmagazines(around20bulletsineach)atthetarget.(One
pressofanAK47'striggerspewsouttwoorthreebullets.)ExplainedSenthamaraikannan:"Yes,wefiredover
300bullets,butitwaspartofourstrategy.Afterourfirstroundoffire,therewasalull.Afewoftheofficers
whomwehadsummonedbymikeonceweknewthatthevan(ambulance)wasindeedgoingtoPadijoinedus
justpriortothesecondroundoffire.Thentherewasalull,butwewerenotsurewhetherVeerappanandhis
peopleweredead,orwereregroupingtofireagain.Soinordertomakethemthinkthatfiringwasstillon,we
hadgroupsofourmenstationedatdifferentpointsaroundthevantofireintheair.Whilethefiringintheair
was going on, two officers opened the back door of the ambulance. No movement was found inside the van.
Duringtheoperation70or80ofourbulletsmusthavehitthetarget.Therestwerefiredintheair."
Sincecommandosgenerallydonotfireintheairduringambushesunlesstheyarecocksurethatthetargethas
beeneliminated,onecanonlyspeculateastowhatwouldhavehappenediftheganghadnotbeendownandout
andtheSTFcommandoshadrunoutofammunitionbyshootingintheair.
There is also the question why the STF did not allow the bandits to exhaust their bullets and then tried to
capturethemalive.SaidVijayKumar:"Iwouldhavelikedtocapturethemalive,butwhentheyopenedfireI
hadtoretaliate."
K.ANANTHAN

ThebodiesofVeerappan(intheforeground)andhisassociates,attheDharmapuriGeneralHospital
mortuary.
AlthoughanumberofsimilarquestionshaverisenonwhatreallyhappenedduringthePadishootout,thereisno
doubtthatthefinalchapterinthelongrunningsagaofVeerappan,whocarriedarewardofRs5.5croresonhis
head,wastheculminationofatleast10monthsofhecticpreparations,includingspotonintelligenceand
meticulousplanningbytheTamilNaduSTF(seebox).
ThechiefroleoftheKarnatakaSTFappearstohavebeentoensurethatthebanditandhisgangdidnothavea
freerunthroughtheKarnatakasideoftheforests.Therewasalsoaseriousefforttocutoutredtapismandone
upmanshipbetweenthetwoSTFs,somethingthathadcharacterisedantiVeerappanoperationsinthepast.
Asaninformedsourcepointedout,theKarnatakaSTFchiefInspectorGeneralofPoliceJyotiPrakashMirjihad
placed his entire force and its weapons and contacts under the command of his senior STF officer across the
Stateboundary,VijayKumar.AlthoughtheKarnatakaSTFwasunawareofthefinalassault,ithadprovidedtwo

groupsofcommandoswhowouldhavecomeintothepictureifVeerappanhadinsistedontheambulancetaking
analternateroute.
Accordingtoinformedsources,inMaySTFpersonnel,inabidtolocatethewhereaboutsofthegangandto
`penetrate'Veerappan'sinnercircleoffriends,hadpaidaseriesofvisitstoprisonsinCoimbatore,Bangalore,
Kollegal(Chamrajnagar),Chennai,SalemandCuddaloreandhadquestionedanumberofinmates,whowere
knowntohavecontactswiththeVeerappangang.Forexample,inAugustofficersfromtheTamilNaduSTF's
intelligence wing questioned a few persons jailed in Bangalore, owing allegiance to the Tamizhar Viduthalai
Iyakkam(TVI).ArrestedinNovember2002forpossessingexplosives,thesemenincludedMuthukumar,whois
allegedtohavespentconsiderabletimewithVeerappanduringtheRajkumarabductionepisode.Accordingto
Vijay Kumar, the reason why Muthukumar was allowed to stay in the forests with the gang was that another
TVIextremist,Maran(whowasarrestedin2003bytheTamilNaduPolice),hadgivenVeerappanRs.2lakhs.
TheSTFisalsosaidtohavequestionedVeerappan'sbrotherMathaiyan,whoisjailedinCoimbatore,andkepta
close watch on Veerappan's wife Muthulakshmi, who was detained in a house in Coimbatore. A number of
educated,youngconstablesandsubinspectorswerealsoplacedasundercoveroperativesinjailsinChennaiand
Coimbatore. Masquerading as petty criminals, these operatives were able to strike a chord with members of
Tamil separatist organisations such as the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army and the Tamil Nadu Retrieval Force,
andlearnthowtomakecontactwithconduitsclosetotheVeerappangang.VijayKumardeniedthattheSTF
hadusedMuslimextremistsasconduits.
ACCORDING to Vijay Kumar, the key to Operation Cocoon lay in the use of the `cutout' system of
information gathering (where conduits/informers in the chain of intelligence gathering/information
disseminationareawareofonlythepersontheyareincontactwithandnooneelseinthechain).
"HavinglearntfromVeerappan'sschoolthatdeceptionwasthebestweapon,"theSTFfinallychosetogoinfor
astrategythat"workedflawlessly".Armedwithsnippetsofinformation,VijayKumarandSenthamaraikannan
putintoplaceanetworkofinformers,attractingintheprocessafewofVeerappan'sownconduitstotheirside.
These men were crucial to the success of Operation Cocoon. Between 25 and 30 local people and "fringe
elements"(someofwhomwereTamilextremists)wereapproached.Whilesomeshowedaninclinationtoturn
their backs on the brigand, others scoffed at the inducements. Some doublecrossed the STF, and others ran
away.
Finallyfourorfivepersonswereenlisted.TheybecamethemouthandearsoftheSTF.Theyinfiltratedthegang
and convinced Veerappan that they were `working' for him and had the wherewithal to provide "whatever he
wanted".
VijayKumar,whoworkedunderWalterI.DawaramduringtheearlystagesofthehuntforVeerappan,tookover
asthechiefofthejointcommandoftheTamilNaduandKarnatakaSTFsonlyinDecemberlast,beginninghis
third stint in the force. His first initiative then was to revive the "halfdormant assets" (informers) as he was
certainthatpreciseintelligencealonecouldhelpzeroinonthegang.
Every piece of information was sifted and pursued meticulously. Information that had the probability of less
than100percentsuccesswasnotfollowedup.Itwasfinallydecidedtolurethebrigandoutoftheforestsby
entering his den. The information garnered enabled the STF to `get into' the mind of the brigand, to study
everythingthathewasupto.
SaidSenthamaraikannan:"Unlikeinthepastwedidnotwanttofighthim(bycombingandpatrols)whereheis
strong.Westartedtothinklikehim.Itwasapsychologicalbattle.Welearnttoflowwithhisthoughts.Whom
didhesuspect?Whendidhesuspectthem?Afterlearninghismethodofthinkingwewereabletomakehimact
accordingtoourscript."
OncethegenerallocationofthegangwasidentifiedasbeinginthevicinityoftheMalaiMahadeshwaraHills,
theSTFdecidedtopushitintothethinnerforeststowardstheeastinataskthattookallofsevenmonthsbut
waswellworthit."Anyhuntinthejungleshadonlyafractionofachanceandonnineoutof10occasionsit
would be possible for the gang to give us the slip. Allowing him to continue in the jungles would definitely
frustratethemission,"VijayKumarsaid.
The STF fortified its posts at Nallur, Hoogyam and Jallipalaya, right up to the river Cauvery, a distance of
around30km,makinglifedifficultforthegang.SaidVijayKumar:"Wewerenowholdinghisterritory.Later
wemovedourmennorthwardsintothePennagaramforestsrightuptoNatrampalayam.Thisonceagaingave
thegangthespacetomovearound."
The gang was shepherded towards the Dharmapuri, Pennagaram and Yemanur forests and the fringes of
Papparapatti,placesthatwererelativelyunfamiliartoit.Afewraidsandpatrolsinpocketsclosetowherethe
gangwashidingwereconductedtogivetheimpressionthattheSTFwasstillnotabletopinpointthegang's
location.
AccordingtoVijayKumar,thiswasthetimethattheSTFlearntthroughinformersoffissuresinthegangandof
Veerappan'seyeailment.Buthewashesitanttocomedowntotheplainsfortreatment,thoughtheailmentwas
providing his lieutenant Govindan with a reason to try and take over the leadership of the gang. Said Vijay
Kumar:"Itwasimperativethathehavehiseyecheckedifhewastoregaincontrolofthegang."Therewasalso
aconflictofinterestbetweenVeerappanandChandreGowda,whowaskeentogoandbewithhisagedand
ailingparents.ThebanditwasalsoworriedwhetherSethumaniwoulddesertthegangafterpocketingsomeof
themoney.
WhatmadeVeerappantrusttheconduits?SaidSenthamaraikannan:"Veerappanwasdesperateforthreethings
togethiseyeoperatedupon,torecruittrainedmanpowerandtobuyweapons.Hewantedtoregroupandwas
planningtokidnapeitheraprominentreligiousleader[KanchiKamakotiMuttchiefJayendraSaraswatisaidin
Kozhikode,Kerala,onOctober30thattheSTFgotinformationthathisnamehadfiguredinVeerappan'slist]or
aKarnatakaMinister.Ourconduits,afterbeingbriefedbyus,wereabletoconvincehimthattheeyeailment
was a very minor one and that a doctor would treat him in a farmhouse. [STF sources indicated that the
farmhouse was on the outskirts of Kollimalai, around 10 km from Papparapatti.] We also offered him other
things.Butwhatelseweofferedisasecret."

AtthesceneoftheshootoutatPadi,nearDharmapuri.
Therehavebeenunsubstantiatedrumoursthathewasheadingtowardsasafehouseorwasbeingofferedasafe
passagetoSriLankaVeerappanhadafascinationfortheLTTEanditsleaderV.Prabakaranbutthesehave
beendeniedbytheSTF.Therehasalsobeenspeculationthateitherhewascapturedorhesurrenderedandthat
he was detained for two days at a location near Mallayanor, about 15 km from Papparapatti and close to the
PikkiliHills.
SourcesintheSTFsaidthatoneofthereasonswhyVeerrappanchosetotakeallhisconfidantswithhimwas
thathewassurethathewouldgetaway:"ItwasVeerappanwhopersuaded,theotherstocomeforaride.He
was also very suspicious. He thought that if any of them got caught in his absence, his location would be
compromised."
INaseparatereaction,VijayKumarsaid"themaincredit"fortheoperationwenttoSenthamaraikannan."The
coordinationbetweenSenthamaraikannanandmewasexcellentandhedidaperfectjob,"hesaid.Thekillingof
thebrigandwas"basicallyanintelligenceoperation"whichwas"aidedbyfindingtherightpeopleforthejob
andexecutingthejobwithanticipationandcontingencyplans",headded.AskedwhethertheSTFhadusedtwo
menofSuba.Ilavarasan'sultraleftistgroup,theTVI,toinfiltratethegangandwhethertheyhadstayedwith
Veerappan for several weeks, Vijay Kumar said they were speculative details on which he did not want to
comment.
Contrarytoreportsinthemedia,sourcesintheSTFsayVellaiduraididnotinfiltratetheVeerappangangand
staywithitintheforestsforthreeweeks.HewentinsidetheforeststwoorthreetimesinJuly"tomakecontact"
withVeerappanbutdidnotsucceed,thesourcesaid.Thereafter,VellaiduraimetVeerappanandhismenonlyon
thedaytheywerekilledbytheSTF.
Senthamaraikannan said: "Vellaidurai's role was purely to pick up the gang from a predetermined spot. We
removedthemanwhowassupposedtodrivethevehicle(asperVeerappan'splans)andsupplantedVellaidurai.
We chose him because of his build, shaven head... He gave the impression of being a Tamil extremist. Also,
sincehehadnewlyjoinedtheSTF,hewouldnotreactemotionallywhenhesawVeerappan.Vellaiduraiwasthe
lastpointofcontactforthemission.Veerappanhadalsobeentoldthatthemanwhowascomingtomeethim
wouldbearmed,soVellaiduraifacednodifficulties."
THEREislittledoubtthatthepoliticalstakeshavealwaysbeenhigherinKarnatakathaninTamilNaduwhenit
came to the Veerappan imbroglio. Whether it was by accident or otherwise, all of Veerappan's highprofile
hostages were residents of Karnataka. The biggest catch was film actor Rajkumar, in 2000, and next came
formerKarnatakaMinisterH.Nagappa,in2002.Onbothoccasions,theS.M.Krishnagovernmentwasrattled
bytheOppositionandthemedia.InthewordsofKrishna,itwas"oneofthelowpointsofhistenureasChief
Minister".HetoldFrontlineafterthebrigand'sdeaththatVeerappanhadgivenhim"somuchtrouble"andthat
"theabductioncriseswereanightmare".
Othergovernmentswerealsohauledoverthecoals,mostnotablythatofJ.H.Patel,afterthebrigandkidnapped
sixpersonsfromtheBandipurNationalParkin1997.ThekidnappingofRajkumarandNagappaandthelatter's
deatharestillshroudedincontroversies,thefirstbecauseofthehugeransom(Rs.20crores)thatwasallegedly
paid,andthesecondbecauseNagappawasfounddeadintheforest.
TheKarnatakagovernment'sjoydespitethefactthatitsSTF,onwhomtheStatehadspentRs.20crores,had
onlyamarginalroleinthedenouementwasthereforeunderstandable.Itwasalsoalwayssuspected,butnever
proved that Veerappan had received ample support from `friends' in the political class. Given this and the
persistent media probing on the hows and whys of the Veerappan saga, Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh on
October19orderedaninquiryintothepoliticalandfinancialsupportthatwasaccordedtothebrigand.
The government is yet to decide on the nature of the probe. An immensely pleased Dharam Singh also
announced that all 900 personnel of the Karnataka STF would get a residential site in their respective
hometowns.
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