10-19-2004, 01:18 AM
<img src='http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40191000/jpg/_40191442_veerappanap203b.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Koose Muniswamy Veerappan
<b>Indian bandit 'killed by police'</b>
Veerappan has evaded capture for two decades
Police in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu say they have shot dead one of India's most wanted men, the bandit known as Veerappan.
Police say he was killed along with three associates in a jungle forest.
Veerappan, a Tamil, was accused of more than 100 murders - as well as kidnapping, smuggling and poaching - and had been on the run for 20 years.
The Indian government had offered a 50m rupee ($1.1m) reward for any information leading to his arrest.
Special Task Force chief K Vijay Kumar said police surrounded Veerappan and his associates near the village of Paparapatti, some 320km (200 miles) southwest of Madras, the state capital.
"We announced on the speakers fitted to our jeeps that since he was surrounded and there was no way he could escape, he and his associates should give themselves up," Mr Kumar told the AFP news agency
"There was silence for about a minute and then, there was firing from the other side. We took cover and returned the fire, killing Veerappan and his three associates," he said.
The bodies had been taken to Dharmapuri hospital, he added.
Police had been hunting Veerappan in forests on Tamil Nadu's border with the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister is expected to make a statement soon.
A tall, wiry man with a trademark handlebar moustache, Veerappan had been considered the country's most ruthless and daring bandit.
He was involved in the kidnapping two years ago of former state minister of Karnataka, H Nagappa, who was found dead after three months in captivity.
He was also involved in the kidnapping for a famous film star, Rajkumar, four years ago.
The film star was released after 108 days of captivity, allegedly for a huge ransom.
Veerappan is said to have offered to surrender to police twice - once in the late 1980s and then in 2001.
There had been allegations that he had close links with some banned extremist Tamil nationalist groups as well as the Tamil separatist group of Sri Lanka, the LTT. (இது பிபிசியின் லொள்ளு...!)
<b>LIFE OF CRIME </b>
Killed first elephant aged 14
Accused of smuggling ivory worth $2.6m and sandalwood worth $22m
Escaped from behind the bars in 1986 by killing four policemen and an unarmed forest official in their sleep
Operated mainly in the forests bordering states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
bbc.com
Koose Muniswamy Veerappan
<b>Indian bandit 'killed by police'</b>
Veerappan has evaded capture for two decades
Police in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu say they have shot dead one of India's most wanted men, the bandit known as Veerappan.
Police say he was killed along with three associates in a jungle forest.
Veerappan, a Tamil, was accused of more than 100 murders - as well as kidnapping, smuggling and poaching - and had been on the run for 20 years.
The Indian government had offered a 50m rupee ($1.1m) reward for any information leading to his arrest.
Special Task Force chief K Vijay Kumar said police surrounded Veerappan and his associates near the village of Paparapatti, some 320km (200 miles) southwest of Madras, the state capital.
"We announced on the speakers fitted to our jeeps that since he was surrounded and there was no way he could escape, he and his associates should give themselves up," Mr Kumar told the AFP news agency
"There was silence for about a minute and then, there was firing from the other side. We took cover and returned the fire, killing Veerappan and his three associates," he said.
The bodies had been taken to Dharmapuri hospital, he added.
Police had been hunting Veerappan in forests on Tamil Nadu's border with the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister is expected to make a statement soon.
A tall, wiry man with a trademark handlebar moustache, Veerappan had been considered the country's most ruthless and daring bandit.
He was involved in the kidnapping two years ago of former state minister of Karnataka, H Nagappa, who was found dead after three months in captivity.
He was also involved in the kidnapping for a famous film star, Rajkumar, four years ago.
The film star was released after 108 days of captivity, allegedly for a huge ransom.
Veerappan is said to have offered to surrender to police twice - once in the late 1980s and then in 2001.
There had been allegations that he had close links with some banned extremist Tamil nationalist groups as well as the Tamil separatist group of Sri Lanka, the LTT. (இது பிபிசியின் லொள்ளு...!)
<b>LIFE OF CRIME </b>
Killed first elephant aged 14
Accused of smuggling ivory worth $2.6m and sandalwood worth $22m
Escaped from behind the bars in 1986 by killing four policemen and an unarmed forest official in their sleep
Operated mainly in the forests bordering states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
bbc.com
<img src='http://kuruvikal.yarl.net/archives/PETBIRD1.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>