Back in Time is ED’s newspaper-like column that reports the past as though it had happened just yesterday. It allows the reader to relive it several years later, on the date it occurred.
18 October 2004: It’s official, Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, the forest brigand who terrorised the dense forests of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala for over two decades, is no more.
The man who once ruled the Western Ghats with a gun and a fearsome reputation was killed late last night in a meticulously planned encounter by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF).
Additional Director General of Police and STF Chief K. Vijay Kumar confirmed early this morning that Operation Cocoon, the mission to hunt down Veerappan, had reached its decisive end.
“The operation was the result of 10 months of planning and three weeks of intense groundwork,” he said, adding that it lasted a mere 45 minutes, a short but deadly conclusion to a manhunt that spanned 20 years.
According to sources, the STF had been tracking Veerappan’s movements for weeks after intelligence revealed that he was suffering from an eye ailment and was seeking medical help outside the forests. To lure him out, the STF disguised one of their vehicles as an ambulance, the very one in which the brigand and his men unknowingly rode to their death.
Inside information played a key role. The STF had successfully infiltrated the gang, planting four operatives who posed as villagers and confidants. Others went undercover as taxi drivers, hawkers, and masons, feeding steady intelligence back to the command centre. It was this web of deception that finally pulled Veerappan out of his jungle fortress.
When the STF team intercepted the ambulance near the Dharmapuri district, Veerappan’s men reportedly refused to surrender and opened fire. The STF retaliated with grenades and bullets, ending one of the longest and most expensive manhunts in Indian history.
The aftermath of the shootout revealed a cache of weapons, including two AK-47s, a Remington pump-action gun, grenades, and ₹3.5 lakh in cash.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Vijay Kumar said, “There was no room for bureaucracy or miscommunication. Both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka STFs worked as one. One aim, one goal, one mission, and that led us here today.”
Another officer added that the success of Operation Cocoon lay not only in strategy but in patience. “We’ve searched and hunted for Veerappan for the last 20 years. His end came in 20 minutes. We wish we had caught him alive, but justice, in its own way, has been served.”
Who Was Veerappan?
Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, widely known simply as Veerappan, was the most notorious forest brigand of southern India for nearly two decades.
Operating out of the dense forests of the Western Ghats, he built a small but fiercely loyal band of men. He ran an extensive criminal network centred on sandalwood smuggling, elephant poaching, and illegal trade in animal parts.
Over the years, he also became infamous for high-profile kidnappings and brazen killings, acts that turned him from a local outlaw into a figure feared across villages and cities alike. Veerappan survived for so long largely because of his intimate knowledge of the terrain and a ruthless ability to stay one step ahead of conventional policing.
His teams used guerrilla tactics, local informants, and safe havens in remote villages, which, combined with alleged political and underground links, made coordinated action against him extremely difficult.
Notable episodes that underscored his menace include the kidnapping of Kannada superstar Rajkumar and the abduction and murder of politician Nagappa, incidents that brought national outrage and focused security forces on dismantling his gang.
The man killed in last night’s operation was Veerappan himself, and several of his close associates were also neutralised during the sting and the subsequent exchange of fire. Police say the operation recovered a cache of weapons and cash, displaying the organised, well-armed nature of the outfit he led.
For two decades, he had been the single most wanted criminal in the region; his death marks the dramatic and violent end of a criminal career that cost many lives and left deep scars on the communities he preyed upon.
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Post Scriptum
It has been 21 years since Veerappan’s death, but his shadow still lingers over the forests and villages he once ruled. The operation that killed him, one of India’s costliest and most complex, remains a case study in counter-insurgency and intelligence operations.
Yet, the story didn’t end with his death. In the years that followed, uncomfortable questions surfaced about his political connections, his alleged links with Tamil extremist groups, and the silence of those who may have profited from his crimes. A few of those questions never found answers.
Popular culture didn’t let him die either. From documentaries to films, Veerappan’s life has been endlessly retold, often blurring the line between a criminal and a folk legend.
While some hailed him as a forest rebel or a ‘Robin Hood,’ the truth remains darker. He was responsible for nearly 184 deaths, countless kidnappings, and decades of fear that paralysed rural South India.
Veerappan’s story is not one of rebellion, but of the dangerous vacuum that corruption and inequality can create, a space where outlaws can rise to mythical stature. His death was a victory for law enforcement, but also a grim reminder of how the system’s failures allowed him to thrive for so long.
In the end, Operation Cocoon may have killed the man, but not the conditions that birthed him. As India continues to battle organised crime and political-criminal nexuses even today, Veerappan’s tale stands as a warning: monsters like him are not born in jungles; they are made in the cracks of the state.
Images: Google Images
Sources: Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Times of India
Find the blogger: Katyayani Joshi
This post is tagged under: veerappan encounter, operation cocoon, indian crime history, veerappan death, tamil nadu stf, k vijay kumar, sandalwood smuggler, indian police operations, back in time ed times, indian dacoits, forest brigand, indian true crime, south india news, crime and justice, india history revisited, infamous criminals india, veerappan story, indian law enforcement, indian history column, operation cocoon success
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