The Hindu : Small band, an advantage to Veerappan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 14, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Small band, an advantage to Veerappan

By K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI July 13. The hunt for Veerappan may be on; but the small number of the gang seems to be advantageous to the poacher-turned sandalwood smuggler to play hide-and-seek with his pursuers.

Though the police claim that the flow of information on Veerappan's movements is better now than in the past, lack of specific details about his presence in a particular place on time poses a major problem in nabbing him.

The number of the gang has now dwindled to three— Veerappan, his close associate Sethukuzhi Govindan, and Chandre Gowder, as the police were able to catch several others during combing operations.

But the police are yet to sight Veerappan and others, except for a ``close encounter'' at Semmandhimalai, north-west of Vaalaiyar, on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, on February 2 last year.

The then DGP maintained that the Special Task Force teams had ``identified Veerappan and Chandre Gowder''.

The gangsters opened fire at the police, who retaliated.

They, however, escaped despite helicopters and dog squads being pressed into service.

Even as questions remained how the gang could escape so easily when the police ``surrounded them'', Veerappan's whereabouts were a ``guessing game'' in the next few days.

Following information that he could have escaped into the Kerala side of the forest, the police in the neighbouring State were also alerted.

Highly placed police sources say the ``supply line'' for the outlaw is still active.

Money seems to be no constraint for Veerappan procuring commodities through his `suppliers'.

With only three members, there could be better coordination among the gang to keep the police at bay.

On most occasions, information about Veerappan's presence proved a hoax.

One reason can be the informers are not sure about his identity as they pass on information on noticing movements from a distance.

In a forest, spread over 6,000 sq.km in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, where the sandalwood smuggler operates, there are no State boundaries. ``But where he is a big question mark'', say the sources.

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