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Chasing Veerappan is proving tough for STF

M D Riti in Bangalore

Has he fled to Sri Lanka? Or is he still hiding in the jungles adjacent to MM Hills? About 3,000 armed men are searching the jungles for Veerappan. But they are no closer to finding him than they ever were.

Yet, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka intelligence firmly believes that Veerappan is there somewhere, in those dense jungles. He has not fled to Sri Lanka, as widely believed, after he released Kannada film actor Dr Rajakumar. But while the governments have the advantage of numbers and arms, Veerappan has the advantage of knowing the terrain thoroughly. As a senior police officer says, "He knows the area like his own kitchen garden, while the best of us do not. Naturally, the task before us is uphill, if not impossible."

The police officers, who have seriously pursued Veerappan over the years, have always said that the best method of getting to him is through intelligence. The area is so vast that his pursuers must at least have a general geographical fix on his location.

However, there is now a committed band of senior police officers, backed by equally motivated lower-rung police personnel, on his trail. "We do not like to just make grand promises and predictions," says H T Sangliana, who was given the additional portfolio of leading the Karnataka STF by Chief Minister S M Krishna almost two months ago. "But we are definitely working hard to track him down and are hopeful of succeeding soon."

The Karnataka STF has about 1,000 men on the job. There are close to 900 of their counterparts from Tamil Nadu. Supporting them now are 700 plus BSF men from north-eastern states.

Should the army also be brought in? "Not necessary at all," a senior BSF officer told rediff.com. "Whatever arms and expertise they have that could help them in this situation, we have too."

The Karnataka police considers the period between 1993 and 1995, when Shankar Mahadev Bidri headed the STF, most productive in the Veerappan hunt. While this period was also the most controversial and has attracted most charges of human rights violations, the police points out that maximum arrests were during this phase. The Veerappan gang had shrunk at that time.

Bidri is now Sangliana's right hand man in the Karnataka STF. However, Bidri is reportedly yet to actually visit the area or go on any aerial or land reconnaissance missions of the jungles yet. Friends and critics allege that he is a little afraid to do so as he is known to be the man Veerappan hates the most.

Besides, he also has Z-category protection, and it will be difficult for him to traverse the jungles quietly, they point out. The only purpose he might serve is as a human target to draw Veerappan out.

But could he not provide valuable intelligence inputs that could bring the bush-beaters closer to Veerappan?

Not really, says the STF. Nobody knows the jungle as well as Veerappan. Manual searches can only cover specific areas at a time. And Veerappan can easily see which area combing operations are going on and avoid it.

Using intelligence networks among villagers to find out where Veerappan is hiding is an old strategy. It worked effectively in the early nineties, when SP Harikrishna and SI Shakeel Ahmed got right to Veerappan's right hand men. But when Veerappan found out, he tricked them into an ambush and killed them.

The old intelligence networks in the villages are now dead. Many police informers have become double agents, on the payrolls of Veerappan and the police. The villagers now virtually live in no man's land, in daily fear of Veerappan and the police. The police are now trying hard to rebuild faith among villagers in their good intentions. Leaflets also warn against helping Veerappan with food supplies or information.

They are also launching fresh publicity campaigns about rewards on Veerappan's head. Veerappan carries a Rs 2 million reward, while Sethukuli Govindan and Chikkarsanapalyam Chandran carry a one million reward each.

Sangliana has gone on three-hour aerial surveys of the terrain by helicopter. However, sources close to him say that he could spot nothing to show signs of Veerappan's habitation of particular spots or passage through certain routes. Aerial surveys of the area in helicopters continue regularly, though, but are yet to prove fruitful.

The tough Mizo cop from Karnataka also spends a lot of his time in the jungles now, although he also heads the Karnataka State Reserve Police, which has its headquarters in Bangalore. He friends in the force say he is finding that the task is far more difficult than he thought.

Sangliana is believed to have his bosses in the Karnataka Government, that he has set himself a personal deadline of three months to catch Veerappan. At the end of that, he proposes to ask the government to relieve him as STF chief.

Those close to him also say he now believes that the STF itself should be disbanded after that and the BSF sent back. He believes that Veerappan should be downgraded to the status of an ordinary criminal. A small intelligence cell dedicated to tracking his movements should then be set up. Based on the information they provide local police battalions can try to chase him down. Veerappan may also be tricked into a false sense of security and walk into a police trap.

The Rajakumar Abduction: complete coverage
The saga of Veerappan

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