The Hunt For Veerappan: Did You Know The Movie Icon Who Got Kidnapped Was Late Puneeth¡¯s Father?

"There never has been a man, a criminal like Veerappan"

Somewhere along the first episode this line was uttered and thus, began the unfolding of the longest and costliest manhunts in the history of India.

I¡¯m pretty sure, many like me (the 90s gang) have heard the intriguing tales of Koose Muniswamy Veerappan in our households while growing up. However, the only vivid memory that I had of the lethal bandit was his big twisted moustache.

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Naturally, when a documentary on the life of the notorious forest Brigand Veerappan was released, I wasted no time to binge watch it in one go.

This Selvamani Selvaraj directorial is a 4-part series, narrated by an investigative journalist Sunaad who was looking to make a career for himself when the country saw the rise of Veerappan and his crimes.

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His rise to notoriety began when he started killing elephants for the purpose of poaching and at the same time began smuggling Sandalwood from the forests. This act of going against the law perhaps stemmed from his formative years which were spent in extreme poverty and lack of resources for not just his own family but the entire village that he resided in.

He turned towards the nature surrounding him to earn a livelihood even if it meant treading on a wrong path consisting of illegal activities. By 1990, he had already killed 1000 elephants for ivory tusk trading and depleted forests of Sandalwood in merely six months of operation. This resulted in a tryst with the law enforcers but instead of mending his ways, he retaliated by committing even more crimes which included kidnapping and murdering forest guards and personnel of the police force.

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He soon became a lawless dacoit, who formed a gang of his own and together they committed numerous acts of violence. Surprisingly for the locals, he was nothing short of a hero.

The people surrounding his village area were said to be very fond of Veerappan as he provided job opportunities and livelihood to them. In fact, he would also distribute the wealth acquired through wrong means equally.

An incident when his trucks were set on fire and the sandalwood that he was smuggling was confiscated by the police, unleashed his dark side completely and he turned into a jungle terrorist. He and his gang members attacked a local police station and killed seven policemen in an act of vengeance.

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Soon enough a special task force or the STF was formed by the governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka with the sole mission of nabbing Veerappan and putting an end to his crimes. When no strategy seemed to work, a DFO P Srinivas stepped in. He vowed to catch hold of the wanted dacoit and make him surrender. However, all his strategies bit the dust when he was murdered brutally at a water crossing. Reportedly, Veerappan was angry with him because Srinivas fell in love with his younger sister. When he found out about their affair, he sent out a warning letter to his sister to refrain from forming a relationship with Srinivas.

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The young girl was so torn between her brother and the man she loved that she ended up taking her life which enraged Veerappan even further. He sought revenge by luring Srinivas into the forest under the pretext of surrendering to the police and shooting him dead at the very first opportunity. He set Srinivas' body on fire after chopping off his arms. We are then told that even dismembering his limbs didn't calm Veerappan down. He then chopped the body's head and kept it as a souvenir.

Following this, killing people became a sport for the forest brigand and his gang. Sub inspector Shakeel Ahmed and Chief of police Harikrishna were the next ones to meet their maker. Then came the Palar blast which was nothing short of a massacre.

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To impose his power, Veerapan had put up a banner challenging the STF to catch him. Officer Gopalkrishnan ¡®Rambo¡¯ took the bait and carried out an operation. He along with his force took two police vehicles inside the forest. Veerappan was one step ahead of them as he had planned a gory welcome for the unsuspecting group. He and his gang dug 13 huge pits along their way and filled them with 25 kgs of explosives. The entire entourage was blown to bits and it was termed as a biblical massacre.

Shankar Mahadev Bidari, the commander-in-chief from Karnataka achieved a massive feat when he and his team captured the hut of Veerappan followed by the arrest of his wife Muthulaksmi who couldn¡¯t flee along with her husband.

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It was reported that Veerappan became more ferocious after his wife¡¯s arrest. In fact, he was said to have built a political alliance post negotiation with a Tamil militant group.

30th July 2000 - On this fateful day, Veerappan walked inside a private farmhouse and kidnapped the legend and greatest icon of Karnataka - Dr Rajkumar.

Not only was Rajkumar a great actor but he was a revered figure in the society. His kidnapping led to massive unrest in both the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The hostage drama which went on for 108 days brought both the governments on their knees as they were willing to negotiate with the forest king desperately. Riots ensued in Bangalore. The STF was pulled back from the area as they couldn¡¯t afford the risk of Rajkumar being harmed.

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Veerapan demanded an emissary as he wanted to put forth the demands in exchange for the release of Dr Rajkumar and his three associates who were kidnapped along with him.

RR Gopal, the editor of Tamil magazine Nakkheeran was anointed as the messenger who would go and meet the forest brigand. To his surprise, Veerappan put forth a total of 10 demands which included:

1. Adequate compensation for the Tamil Victims of 1991 Cauvery riots
2. Fixed minimum wages for coffee and tea plantation workers
3. Inauguration of statue of Tamil-saint Poet Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore
4. Tamil Nadu detainees who were wrongly arrested on his behalf to be released from jail
5.The Karnataka govt should accept Tamil as additional administration language
6. TADA Detainees - innocent people in Karnataka jail should be released
7. Permanent solution of river Cauvery - 205 TMC feet of water to be released to Tamil Nadu immediately, among other things.

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These demands reeked of politics and activism. While a lot of back and forth went on, Veerapan had to lower his demands in exchange for Rajkumar¡¯s release. A second emissary was appointed - Kolathur Mani, a Tamil statesman and a man of high stature. He was a prominent figure who managed to convince Veerappan to act reasonably and lower his demands as if anything were to happen to Rajkumar albeit naturally, there would be a lot of unrest in the two states.

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The forest brigand gave in and promised to release Rajkumar in exchange for the release of the TADA detainees. Just at the cusp of exchange, the court ordered for a stay on the release of the TADA detainees

No points for guessing, Veerappan seethed with anger. The two CMs of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu had sleepless nights as they anticipated retaliation. Veerappan then decided that since the officials weren¡¯t taking his demands seriously, he might have to kill one of the four hostages to make them realise the gravity of the situation. This gave rise to panic amongst Rajkumar¡¯s associates. One of them, Nagappa attacked Veerappan with a sickle in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep. He was caught by the gang and during the scuffle, Nagappa managed to escape. The officials feared for Rajkumar¡¯s life even more post this development.

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It is then revealed that apart from the 10 demands, there was an 11th one as well and this consisted of a monetary deal. Veerappan had demanded Rs 1000 crores in exchange for Rajkumar. He was willing to accept Rs 100 crores in cash and the rest in Gold bars.

A third emissary was then appointed to reason with the forest brigand. Nedumaran, a Tamil Nationalist and political figure was sent into the heart of the forest to have a conversation with the dacoit. He tactfully handled the situation and tried to pacify Veerappan. It was said that Rs 10 crores were given to Veerappan in a secret and unofficial deal as ultimately money mattered more not the Tamil cause.

The pleasant release of Rajkumar after a span of 108 days

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It was reported that Veerappan made a hair dye for Rajkumar himself as he wanted the icon to look like a bridegroom at the time of his release. The duo, in fact, shared mutual admiration for each other and Rajkumar later revealed that Veerappan was child-like in nature.

Right before his departure from the forest, Rajkumar put a pendant on Veerappan along with sacred ash on his forehead and told him, ¡°No harm shall fall upon you¡±. They both hugged and cried.

Rajkumar¡¯s release was nothing short of a celebratory event as he was finally back on the soil of Karnataka. In some of the archival shots, the most noticeable clip is that of him and his sons Shiva, Raghvendra and Puneeth Rajkumar.

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Puneeth not only carried the legacy of his father forward but he did so with so much heart that the entire country mourned his untimely demise. From batting for the usage of public transport to sponsoring education for thousands of children, he became the face of many such causes with no vested interest.

He passed away due to a cardiac arrest at the age of 46. For the unversed, he had pledged to donate his eyes in accordance with the pledge by his father Rajkumar. His precious donation gave eyesight to four different people.

Puneeth Rajkumar/Facebook

Coming back to Veerappan, post Dr Rajkumar¡¯s release, fatigue crept in on both the sides. Veerappan had gone lax as did the forest officials. The forest brigand was bending towards his family and desired to live a peaceful life with his family - wife and two daughters.

Former STF officer Senthamarai Kannan then revealed how a trap was set up to catch hold of him. He believed that catching Veerappan inside the forest was next to impossible. Even choppers, thermal images and available technology at that time couldn¡¯t help them in nabbing Veerappan. Therefore, they had decided to lure him out of the forest. Unfortunately, they got busted at the last minute and the mission could not attain fruition.

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Emissary Kolathur Mani, had a soft corner for Veerappan and also shared a good rapport with him. The forest brigand asked him for a favour. He told Mani that he had no manpower left and he wanted to get an eye surgery done as his vision had gotten poor due to cataract.

STF chief at that time officer Vijaykumar, with Mani¡¯s help planned operation cocoon. He laid a solid bait for Veerappan and his remaining three associates. The plan was to transport the four criminals in an ambulance on the pretext of taking them to the hospital. A police van was converted into a make-believe ambulance. On the way, 3 commando teams consisting of snipers attacked the ambulance and successfully eliminated Veerappan and his men after a 20-year chase. Veerappan finally died without fighting on October 18th, 2004.

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¡°Only the sky gods and forest deities know my truth¡± - Veerappan

The Hunt For Veerappan also features accounts of some of his gang members and wife Muthulakshmi. The youngest member Anburaj shared some interesting facts about the leader that he once idolised. As per him, Veerappan never drank, nor was he a womansier. He was a god-fearing killer who also believed in astrology. He never discriminated between people based on cast and creed and for many, he was a forest angel who stood up for them. His wife Muthulaksmi revealed that several villagers used to kiss her husband¡¯s hands and used to hug him tightly as for them, he was their saviour.

Anburaj - former member of Veerappan's gang

In the interesting last shots, the interviewer asked Muthulakshmi - What is bravery?

She replied, bravery is being fearless. The interview then retorted that the act of killing is not bravery. At this point, Muthu can be seen perplexed and all she replied is - alright!

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The beauty of this series is not Veerapan. It¡¯s the valour and bravado of the officers who relentlessly chased him for 20 long years. The sacrifice of 120 people including 44 police and forest officers who died in its wake.

The Hunt For Veerappan is an ode to all those who sacrificed their lives and others who dared to take this mission to fruition.

(To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE)