The Special Task Force of the Tamil Nadu police, which was constituted to nab forest brigand Veerappan, will not be disbanded, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said on Monday
"Though Veerappan has been eliminated, the STF will continue and will handle hijacking, armed terrorism, illegal agitations, natural calamities, train accidents and the havoc caused by floods," she said in a statement in Chennai.
The STF killed Veerappan and three of his associates in an encounter at Papparapatti village in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, on October 18 this year.
The STF will now have 237 police personnel and 26 ministerial staff, one additional superintendent of police and one deputy SP for its technical wing, besides two photographers, she said. The rest of the staff will be sent back to their respective units.
The chief minister also announced that Chennai Joint Commissioner of Police C Sylendra Babu, who led the operations against Veerappan as a DSP in 1989, will be given Rs 300,000, a plot and a special medal.
M Jaykumar and K Palanisamy, who were part of Sylendra Babu's team, will also be similarly honoured.
The police intelligence staff will be given cash awards ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 200,000. The 163 personnel who had participated in the encounter against Veerappan will be rewarded with out-of-turn promotions, she said.
Vellathurai, M Saravanan and Kumaresan, who were instrumental in bringing Veerappan out of the forests, will be given another promotion. They have already been given a promotion, she pointed out.