Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

'Locals forthcoming on Veerappan'

By K.T. Sangameswaran

CHENNAI Aug. 31 . With some information trickling in on the movements of the poacher-turned sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan, the Special Task Force is despatching more teams to specific locations for cross-checking and initiate follow-up action if required, STF sources told The Hindu.

The Tamil Nadu unit is at present concentrating on the borders with Karnataka to trap the outlaw if he moves out. Even a few days ago, the Tamil Nadu personnel coordinated with their counterparts in the neighbouring State to carry out searches.

Asked whether Karnataka had halted its operations against the brigand, the sources said they had not received any such message. However, the Tamil Nadu STF intensified its exercise.

In contrast to the situation in the past, locals in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are passing on information to the police about Veerappan. There is information that he has taken ill, but the police could not independently verify it. Besides intelligence personnel, the locals have fanned out from Kamagere (in Karnataka) in three directions, in which a dense forest is located, covering a 20-30-km radius. However, no worthwhile clues have emerged. Only 50 per cent of the information received is ``actionable'', the others being vague.

But all efforts by the police and the public at locating Veerappan may not be successful if he decides to stay put in a particular spot deep inside the jungles, inaccessible to his pursuers.

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