Recently, a policeman shot himself accidentally after he fired his gun in sheer fright when he came across an elephant! I never actually saw him.". Veerappan had kidnapped him two years ago and held him hostage for almost five months while constantly moving around in the vast Sathyamangalam forest. He was just 10 when he gunned down a tusker with the help of his mentor Sevi Gounder at Gopinatham. There are a few unpaved tracks that would allow a jeep to move through in the dry season. [27], On 18 October 2004, Veerappan and three of his associates were killed by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force[40] and N. K. Senthamarai Kannan under the proactive leadership of K Vijayakumar. Veerappan, who is known in Indian History for his misdeeds related to poaching, dacoit, and smuggling of trees specifically sandalwood from the forest. 100% (1/1) Ram Gopal Verma Ramgopal Varma RGV. The world is our home. Sathyamangalam forest. Operation Cocoon was an operation launched by the Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu Police to capture the forest brigand Veerappan and his associates, who were dominant in Sathyamangalam Forest in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. For several years during the 1990s, Veerappan kidnapped police officials and other personalities and demanded ransom money. The blast occurred at Palar, near Malai Mahadeswara Hills (present-day Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka) and killed 22 members of the team. [25], Through these operations, under charge of Sanjay Arora and Shankar Bidari, the gang was reduced to 5 members. For the Special Task Force hunt for Veerappan, the jungle is a bigger hurdle than the brigand's cunning. Operation Cocoon was an operation launched by the Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu Police to capture the forest brigand Veerappan and his associates, who were dominant in Sathyamangalam Forest in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Veerappan. Operation Cocoon was an operation launched by the Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu Police to capture the forest brigand Veerappan and his associates, who were dominant in Sathyamangalam Forest in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The first two settlement pockets are near the MM Hills. Naggapa was kidnapped but was found dead after three months within the forest, though the Karnataka police tried for an encounter but failed and found Nagappa the agricultural marketing minister, 1996. But despite the chase, Bidri never sighted Veerappan. Heres Why? [13] The villagers of Gopinatham celebrated with firecrackers on hearing the news. The youth can find their daily dose of Information, Counselling as well as Entertainment here at Youngisthan.in. It is surrounded by the forest on three sides and a stream with a small water fall on the other end. "They are the Cauvery, the Palar, the Moyar, the Chinar, and the Bhavani." 200 crore) from the two neighbouring states. Veerappan Kidnaps Nagappa Veerappan's first crime. DisplayAds ("Top,Left,Left1,Left2!Left2", "100", "90"); There are three major areas of settlement in this part of the forest, which is in Karnataka, and beyond Biligiri-Ranga Hills, from where the thick forest begins. National News "It would be very hard for someone who does not know where he moves around to track him down.". It is also believed that Veerappan buried large amounts of money in various parts of the forest; in 2002 police recovered 3.3million rupees from his gang members. Operation Cocoon was an operation launched by the Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu Police to capture the forest brigand Veerappan and his associates, who were dominant in Sathyamangalam Forest in the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. CAPITAL BUZZ Nabbed three forest officials and killed them. There were torture camps, murders, rapes. [21] He regularly killed anyone suspected of being a police informer. All the money acquired by looting was reportedly spent towards the welfare of his community. The dense jungle has been Veerappan's kingdom for almost 15 years now and has defied thousands of policemen and paramilitary personnel in that span of time. [13][14] As of 2004, his two daughters, Vidya Rani (born in 1990) and Prabha (born in 1993), were studying in Tamil Nadu. and visited the forest several times for videotaped discussions. In February 1992, his lieutenant Gurunathan was killed by the Karnataka task force, with SI Shakeel Ahmed single-handedly responsible for the capture. The Reserve has 15 territorial Ranges at Sathyamangalam, Bhavanisagar, Vilamundy, T. N. Palayam . [21], Several human rights activists, who rallied under the banner of the Centre for Protection of Civil Liberties (CPCL), claimed that circumstantial evidence indicated that Veerappan was murdered by police after being tortured. "For that, the helicopters would have to fly at low altitude, which is not possible in hilly terrain. Veerappan had kidnapped him two years ago and held him hostage for almost five months while constantly moving around in the vast Sathyamangalam forest. [18] Veerappan initially worked as a sandalwood and ivory smuggler, killing elephants for their tusks. And in certain areas, the rock is sheer. Now they say tigers are even breeding in the area. Sathyamangalam has always been one of those untouched territories for me because accessing it was a problem due to the whole Veerappan episode and all of that; it has fairly remained very closed. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service, Veerappans lair in Sathyamangalam declared tiger reserve. A citybased doctor treated the forest brigand, Veerappan, in the Sathyamangalam forests in Erode district months before. "The region was much terrorised then. Trapped and blew up a Tamil Nadu bus carrying police, forest officials and civilians, using a landmine, which killed 22 civilians and police. REDIFF POLL 15 lakhs. Cone-shaped hillocks rise from as low as 311 feet near Gopinatham to above 1,250 feet further along. //-->, Veerappan frequents those parts of the forest where even the animals do not go," says Kannada superstar Rajakumar. In that case, the hostages were released unharmed a few years later even though his ransom demand was not met. "We once chased him all the way to the Silent Valley (which is in northeast Kerala)," recalls Bidri. COIMBATORE: Nine years after the dreaded sandalwood smuggler Veerappan was shot dead, his former lair of Sathyamangalam has been declared a tiger reserve amid complaints from traditional forest dwellers that they were never consulted as mandated under the historic Forest Rights Act, 2006. (Can't see? Beheaded after killing deputy conservator of forest, Srinivas and buried it which was discovered after three years. Further south the marshland gives way to gravel. The forest was used by Veerappan, a notorious. India News. Killed 6 policemen K. M. Uthappa, Prabhakara, Poovaiah, Machaiah, Swamy and Narasappa of STF commander Gopal Hosur's party and injured the police commander near Rangaswamy Vaddu, M. M. Hills, Karnataka.