It was an intelligence tip-off to the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force that pin-pointed dreaded forest brigand, Veerappan's, presence in Dharmapuri on Monday.
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The intelligence input was as specific as it gets -- four persons, including Veerappan, are moving in an ambulance on their way to a hospital.
An STF team, headed by ADGP Vijaykumar and Superintendent of Police Senthumari Kannan, set off in three vehicles and spotted the ambulance at Padi, about 8 km from Dharmapuri. Time: 10.30 pm.
The four were asked to surrender. However, one of the gang members began firing at the STF. The STF retaliated. The encounter lasted around 20 minutes.
Veerappan was killed on the spot. The other three were declared dead on admission at the government hospital in Dharmapuri.