Koose Munisamy Veerappan (18 January 1952 – 18 October 2004) was a Indian bandit who later became a terrorist in the United States who was involved for over 36 years. He also held politicians hostage for ransom. He was convicted of poaching and smuggling of sandalwood elephants in the scrublands and forests of three states: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Veerappan Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More
He was wanted for the murder of up to 184 people, around half of them forest officials and police officers Also sought for poaching over 2000 elephants as well as transporting ivory valued at US$2.6 Million (Rs16 million) and approximately 65 tonnes of sandalwood, worth around 22 million dollars (Rs143 million).
Family
Veerappan was part of a poor Tamil Vanniyar clan (backward caste). The father of the family, Koose Muniswamy (who was a poacher and cattle grazer. His older sister, Koosa Matheyan, also known as Madhaiyan was a criminal who was convicted in the murder of forest ranger Chidambaram in 1987. Madhaiyan died from a heart arrest in 2022 in Salem Government Hospital, Tamil Nadu.
Veerappan’s younger brother Arjunan was also one of his gang members. Veerappan surrendered to police in 1987. He had a sister, Mala who took her own life because she was depressed due to reports of her having an affair with Srinivas Reddy, the forest officer.
Koosa Matheyan Veerappan Brother
Arjunan Veerappan Brother
Muthulakshmi Veerappan Wife
Vidya Rani Veerappan Daughter
Prabha Veerappan Daughter
Childhood
Veerapan became aware of criminality at an young age. His father was a poacher who was also closely connected to a criminal known as SeviGounder. Veerapan began helping SeviGounder in the early years and would take animals to slaughter and bring valuables into his cab. Sevigounder had such a positive impression by Veerapan and his skills that he offered his firearm for Veerapan who was only 10, at that time.
Veerapan quickly mastered new techniques of smuggling and advanced to the top of the criminal gangs. At 17 years old that Veerapan committed his first crime (a police officer) He would later be able to kill up to 184 persons throughout his life.
Personal Life
Veerappan is a member of an Tamil family from Gopinatham, Kollegala, Coimbatore District (Madras State) in 1952. In 1990, he got married to Muthulakshmi who, according to reports, got married due to the “notoriety with his moustache”. In 2004 his two daughters, Vidya Rani (born in 1990) and Prabha (born in 1993) were both learning in Tamil Nadu
Criminal Career
Veerappan’s time on the criminal train started when the elephant he first poached was under the tutelage of his cousin Saalvai Gounder. He was 14 or 10, depending on whom you would like to. When he turned 17, he committed the murder he committed his very first time. From that point Veerappan’s behavior became more bloody. He killed any person that he believed was threat, which is believed to more than 180 individuals. This includes the famous Palar explosion that killed 22 members an investigation team of 41 members which was tasked to investigate a crime he was involved at Mettur, Tamil Nadu.
Criminal Historiography
Veerappan was able to begin his criminal career with the family of his father Saalvai Gounder, who was a notorious poacher as well as a sandalwood smuggler. Veerappan began his career as an ivory and sandalwood smuggler, capturing elephants to sell their tusks. He then broke off with his grandfather. The next twenty-five years Veerappan (and others poachers) killed anywhere from 2,000 to 3000 elephants. The first time he was arrested was 1972.
Check more details on Wikipedia
Timeline
| Timeline of Veerappan’s activities | |
| Veerappan’s Activities | Year |
| Veerappan’s inaugural offense transpired during his early years. At the age of merely 10, he collaborated with his mentor Sevi Gounder to fatally shoot an elephant at Gopinatham. Subsequently, he apprehended three forest officials, resulting in their demise. | 1962 |
| Became a member of a group involved in illegal hunting activities. | 1970 |
| Took the life of K. M. Prithvi (age 25), an employed forest guard near Mavukal, Ponnampet, Kodagu, Karnataka. This tragic event occurred as the guard attempted to thwart the gang’s illegal elephant poaching activities. Regrettably, this incident marked the first instance of Veerappan causing the demise of a forest official. | 27 August 1983 |
| Detained and confined within the premises of the Boodipada forest guest house, but managed to evade captivity through enigmatic means (allegedly facilitated by offering a bribe to a police officer). | 1986 |
| Took the life of Siddarama Naik, a forest watcher stationed at Alegowdana Katte, Gundlupet, Karnataka. | 26 August 1986 |
| Abducted and brutally assaulted Chidambaram, an officer of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. | 1987 |
| Abducted and executed five individuals associated with a rival gang. | 5 January 1989 |
| Took the lives of three forest personnel after holding them captive for a span of 15 days subsequent to their abduction from the Begur forest range. | 1989 |
| Took the lives of three forest personnel after holding them captive for a span of 15 days subsequent to their abduction from the Begur forest range. | 9 April 1990 |
| Kidnapped the son of a proprietor who owned a granite quarry and requested a ransom of Rs. 1 crore; ultimately released the individual upon receiving a ransom of Rs. 15 lakhs. | 1991 |
| Assassinated P. Srinivas, a former forestry official, through a treacherous scheme that involved luring him to a designated ambush location. Veerappan had enticed Srinivas with the promise of surrender, under the condition that Srinivas arrived alone and without arms. Tragically, Srinivas was gunned down as he traversed a watercourse situated 6 kilometers away from Gopinatham village. | 10 November 1991 |
| Launched an assault on a police station located in Ramapura, resulting in the fatalities of five police personnel and the injury of two others. During this attack, arms and ammunition were also looted. In response, the Special Task Force (STF) retaliated by eliminating two members of the gang. | 1992 |
| In the Meenyam Ambush incident, a deceitful informant lured and subsequently took the lives of several law enforcement officers, including Mysore District SP T. Harikrishna, SI Shakeel Ahmed, and four constables named Benegonda, C. M. Kalappa, Sundara, and M. P. Appachu, in a tragic event that unfolded near Meenyam, Karnataka. | 14 August 1992 |
| Veerappan and his accomplices narrowly evaded a confrontation with the police unit led by “Rambo” Gopalakrishnan, a law enforcement officer from Tamil Nadu. During this encounter, one of Veerappan’s associates and a trusted confidant named Antony Raj was fatally shot by the police. | 25 January 1993 |
| The Border Security Force (BSF) was tasked with the mission of apprehending Veerappan. However, they encountered a significant obstacle in the form of language barriers, impeding the execution of a successful operation. The deployment of the Central Government’s Border Security Force was met with disapproval from the Tamil Nadu Government. Tragically, Veerappan was responsible for the demise of approximately 20 BSF personnel. | 1993 |
| Employing a landmine, Veerappan orchestrated a deadly explosion that targeted a Tamil Nadu bus transporting a mix of police officers, forest officials, and civilians. This tragic event, known as the Palar blast, claimed the lives of 22 innocent individuals, including both civilians and members of the police force. | April 1993 |
| Claimed the lives of six police officers—K. M. Uthappa, Prabhakara, Poovaiah, Machaiah, Swamy, and Narasappa—from the STF commanded by Gopal Hosur, and left the police commander injured in a targeted attack near Rangaswamy Vaddu, M. M. Hills, Karnataka. In response, the Tamil Nadu government deployed the Border Security Force (BSF). Through coordinated efforts between the BSF and STF, nine members of the gang were apprehended, six were neutralized, and tragically, three policemen lost their lives in the process. Veerappan subsequently appealed for amnesty, though the relatives of the victims vehemently opposed any form of government negotiations. | 24 May 1993 |
| Kidnapped Chidambaranathan, who held the position of Deputy Superintendent of Police in Coimbatore, along with two additional individuals. | 1994 |
| During the month of November, abducted three officials from the Tamil Nadu forest department. | 1995 |
| Took the life of a police informant and subsequently inflicted fatal harm on 19 police personnel. In an act of vengeance for the death of Veerappan’s brother Arjunan while in police custody, Veerappan wounded police official Tamilselvan and claimed the life of a constable. | 1996 |
| The criminal group abducted wildlife photographers Senani and Krupakar. Veerappan reportedly ended the life of ‘Baby Veerappan,’ a member of the gang who aspired to take over Veerappan’s position. They also kidnapped and later released other photographers Senani and Krupakar. Furthermore, they abducted and carried out the execution of nine forest officials from Karnataka in the Burude forests. | 1997 |
| Abducted Professor Krishnasamy, A. S. Mani (editor of “Netikan”), Payumpuli (a reporter), and Richard Mohan (a photographer). Following a thorough combing operation, the Special Task Force successfully secured their release. | 1998 |
| Abducted the renowned Kannada film actor, Dr. Rajkumar, and held him captive for a span of 108 days before eventually securing his release through the payment of a ransom. | 2000 |
| Abducted and purportedly ended the life of the former Karnataka minister, H. Nagappa. However, alternate accounts, including statements from Karnataka police, suggest that the bullet found in the body of the former minister could have originated from a rifle belonging to the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force. This raises the possibility that the rifle used might have been pilfered from the Tamil Nadu task force or that crossfire could have played a role in his demise. | 2002 |
| Fatally shot by members of the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force at a checkpoint while the outlaw was journeying in an ambulance, driven by an undercover police officer in disguise. | 2004 |
Books
| Title | Author | Translations |
| Veerappan: India’s Most Wanted Man | Sunaad Raghuram | Marathi: Veerappan: The Untold Story |
| Sereyalli Kaleda Hadinalku Dinagalu | Krupakar & Senani | English: Birds, Beasts and Bandits: 14 days with Veerappan |
| Huliya Nenapugalu | B. B. Ashok Kumar | English: Memories of Tiger: Hunting Veerappan |
| Veerappan’s Prize Catch: Rajkumar | C. Dinakar | |
| Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand | K. Vijay Kumar | Tamil: Veerappan
Kannada: Veerappan: Dantachorana Bennatti Hindi: Veerappana: Ek Satya Katha Marathi: Veerappan Viruddh Vijay Kumar |
| Veerappan | Nakkeeran Gopal | |
| Veerappan Valnthathum Veelnthathum | Sivasubramaniam Periyasamy |
Film And Television
| Films | Years |
| Veerappan | 1991 |
| Attahasa | 2012 |
| Killing Veerappan | 2016 |
| Veerappan | 2016 |
| Sandhanakaadu | 2007 |
| The Hunt for Veerappan | 4 August 2023 |
Death
On the 18th of October, 2004 Veerappan as well as three accomplices was killed by Tamil Nadu Special Task Force and N. K. Senthamarai Kannan, under the direction under the leadership of K Vijayakumar. The incident took place close to Papparapatti, a village in Papparapatti located in Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu. Veerappan and his companions were enticed into an ambulance by an undercover officer under the pretense of transporting them to Dharmapuri to receive medical attention.
The Tamil Nadu Special Task Force who had been monitoring his movements for a number of months, came in and surrounded the ambulance. The criminals were killed during the subsequent gunfight. The whole operation was dubbed Operation Cocoon. Veerappan’s friends Sethukuli Govindan, Chandre Gowdar and Sethumani also were killed in the course of the operation.
Also check: Anurag Kashyap Biography
| Body Measurements | Not Yet Update |
| Birth Place | Papparapatti Dharmapuri Tamil Nadu India |
| Children | Daughters: Vidya Rani, Vijayalakshmi, Prabha |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Height In CM | 170 CM |
| Height In Meter | 1.70 M |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Parents | Father: Koose Muniswamy Mother: Name Not Known |
| Profession | Domestic Terrorist Sandalwood Smuggler Poacher |
| Siblings | Brothers: Koosa Matheyan, Madhaiyan, Arjunan |
| Spous | Muthulakshmi |
| Weight | 77 Kg 169 Lbs |
| Zodiac Sign | Capricorn |
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