Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04CHENNAI1394
2004-11-09 08:50:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chennai
Cable title:  

VEERAPPAN'S DEATH PUTS DHARMAPURI'S FUTURE IN

Tags:  PGOV PTER PINR PHUM IN 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 001394 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR PHUM IN
SUBJECT: VEERAPPAN'S DEATH PUTS DHARMAPURI'S FUTURE IN
DOUBT

REF: 03 CHENNAI 1422

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 001394

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER PINR PHUM IN
SUBJECT: VEERAPPAN'S DEATH PUTS DHARMAPURI'S FUTURE IN
DOUBT

REF: 03 CHENNAI 1422


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A seventeen-year manhunt ended with the
shooting death of K.M. Veerappan, the famed forest
brigand of Dharmapuri. The shootout was the culmination
of months of planning by the Government of Tamil Nadu
(GoTN) and the police Special Task Force (STF). The
operation showcased the organizational capacity of the
state police, but leaves questions about security in the
region. With Veerappan gone, the GoTN must integrate
Dharmapuri into the rest of state or security concerns
may persist. END SUMMARY.

--------------
POLICE GUN DOWN BRIGAND AFTER 17-YEAR MANHUNT
--------------


2. (SBU) After 17 years of futilely searching for the
famed forest brigand, Veerappan, the Tamil Nadu police
finally brought his banditry to an end. Having
infiltrated the Veerappan's gang, STF agents convinced
the aging bandit to seek medical attention for an eye
condition. On October 18, the agents lured Veerappan
into an ambulance, which took the brigand and three
members of his gang to a prearranged location near
Papparapatti, where 60 additional agents waited in
hiding. According to news reports, the STF agents used a
loudspeaker to ask Veerappan to surrender. He did not
initially respond, and after repeated entreaties
allegedly opened fire on the police. The STF agents
responded with heavy gunfire that killed the brigand and
three accompl
es. The agent posing as the ambulace
driver escaped unharmed.


3. (SBU) The shooout brought an end to Veerappan's three-
decade eign of crime in the dense Sathyamangalam forests
of the Dharmapuri district of northern Tamil Nadu. Known
for his uncanny knowledge of these forestareas, the
brigand got his start as a teenager paching elephants.
He later expanded into smuggling sandalwood, a material
that fetches a high price in India due to its role in
religious ceremonies. In an effort to stave off capture,
Veerappan allegedly killed at least 120 people, of whom
many were forest and government officials. He caught the
nation's attention in 2000 when he captured Kannada film
star Rajkumar and held him for 109 days, before releasing
him under mysterious circumstances.

-------------- --------------
VEERAPPAN'S END A MAJOR VICTORY FOR CM AND TOP POLICEMAN

-------------- --------------


4. (U) For Tamil Nadu's chief minister, J. Jayalalithaa,
bringing Veerappan's reign to a close was a significant
political victory. She rose to power in 2001 partly on
the strength of her campaign promise to hunt down the
brigand more effectively than the opposition party had.
After three years of frustration, she took the
opportunity to gloat over fulfilling her promise. At a
public meeting organized by the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the ASEAN
Secretariat on October 20, she exulted in her success,

SIPDIS
calling Veerappan's death "a dream come true." She also
lavished praise on the STF, granting a house site and
$6,000 to 770 former and current agents. In addition,
she gave them one-step promotions in rank at a widely
publicized public event.


5. (SBU) The mission's success also vindicated STF
Additional Director of Police, Vijay Kumar. A no-
nonsense approach that created trouble for him earlier in
his career drew considerable praise from the media and
politicians in the Veerappan incident. Before receiving
his current assignment, Vijay Kumar served as the Chennai
City Police Commissioner from 2001 to 2003. During this
time, his "shoot first, ask questions later" approach
cleaned up the city, but landed him in trouble,
particularly when he shot Pannayar Venkatesan, a criminal
with ties to the powerful Nadar community. Vijay Kumar's
failure to arrest five journalists from The Hindu
(Reftel) led the Chief Minister to transfer him to the
much less desirable STF posting.

-------------- --------------
OPERATION REQUIRED MONTHS OF COORDINATION AND PLANNING
-------------- --------------


6. (U) The success of "Operation Cocoon" also highlighted
the intelligence and planning capabilities of the Tamil
Nadu police. Long considered among the most professional
and most capable forces in India, the STF operation
showed that the state police are now capable of sustained
surveillance, intelligence, and infiltration campaigns.
The shootout was the culmination of ten months of
planning in coordination with several branches of the
Tamil Nadu state government. To counter the brigand's
extensive intelligence network in nearby villages, the
STF obtained licenses for agents to operate vans and
taxis, in addition to installing agents in small shops
and tea stands. The intelligence gathered by these
agents was crucial to coordinating the confrontation that
led to Veerappan's death.

-------------- --
FIRST INSTANCE OF INTERSTATE POLICE COOPERATION
-------------- --


7. (SBU) In addition to demonstrating the organizational
capacities of the Tamil Nadu state police, "Operation
Cocoon" marked the first instance of prolonged and formal
interstate police cooperation between Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka. The location of the Sathyamangalam forests on
the border between the two states had long allowed
Veerappan to evade local police by crossing the border.
Regular meetings between the regional police chiefs from
each state, interoperable communication sets, and
operations by local police forces in their neighboring
state tightened the net around the brigand, significantly
limiting his movement. According to Pitchandi, Secretary
Public in the Government of Tamil Nadu, neither state had
ever cooperated on such a significant law enforcement
operation. Venkatakrishnan, Director General -
Intelligence for Tamil Nadu agreed, noting, "There was a
degree of interaction at the local level between the two
states that did not exist in the past."

-------------- --------------
HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS QUESTION AGGRESSIVE POLICE TACTICS
-------------- --------------


8. (SBU) While government and law enforcement officials
celebrated Veerappan's death, human rights activists
publicly questioned the STF's actions. Noting that STF
agents had sustained serious injuries in past encounters
with Veerappan, human rights lawyers wondered how none
were hurt in an allegedly intense shootout. They also
questioned the procedures followed in the postmortem
examination. The doctor conducted the exam with several
police officers standing over him and hundreds more
demanding access to the building. Coupled with the
initial plan by police to cremate the body (finally, he
was buried) and refusal to allow examination of the
ambulance, many activists doubted the claim that the
police killed Veerappan in an "encounter." Many implied
instead that he had been simply ambushed with no
opportunity to surrender.

-------------- --------------
VEERAPPAN'S DEATH - A POWER VACUUM IN DHARMAPURI?
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) So complete was Veerappan's hold on the
Sathyamangalam forests that his death leaves the future
of the region in doubt. Acknowledged to be one of the
least developed districts in Tamil Nadu, Dharmapuri has
been effectively unserved by the state government for
many years. Its poverty and remoteness make it an ideal
breeding ground for discontent. According to Pitchandi,
"The terrain is ideally suited for a Veerappan Junior."
Veerappan reportedly had links to Tamil nationalist
groups like the Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA) and the
Tamil Nadu Retrieval Troops (TNRT),but K.P. Sunil, Vice
President - News at Jaya TV, discounted any shared
ideology. He said that these groups have long been
active in the area, due to their subtle links to the
majority caste in the area, the Vanniars. Veerappan was
simply using these groups for weapons and support, and
was not interested in furthering their cause. Post
sources believed increased support for Tamil nationalist
groups would be unlikely, as the mainstream Pattali
Makkal Katchi (PMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK) draw considerable support from Vanniar youth
groups, leaving little room for the TNLA and TNRT.
According to K. Chandru, a lawyer and human rights
activist, "Even if the Government of Tamil Nadu does
nothing, the PMK and DMK will keep [the TNLA and TNRT] at
bay."


10. (SBU) Despite the brigand's link to the predominant
caste in Dharmapuri, local political parties are not
attempting to turn Veerappan into a hero. According to
Dr. Jeyaranjan, Director of the Institute of Development
Alternatives, "There is no attempt to iconize (sic)
Veerappan." Both the PMK and the DMK have refrained from
condemning his killing, passing up the chance to turn his
death into a political rallying point. According to A.K.
Moorthy, PMK Member of Parliament, Veerappan belonged to
a very small subcaste within the Vanniar community,
further dampening the political response to his death.


11. (SBU) In addition to Tamil ultra groups, the People's
War has also been active in Dharmapuri. While this
Maoist group has found success and support in Andhra
Pradesh, the high urbanization of Tamil Nadu has limited
the group's opportunities. Dharmapuri's lack of
infrastructure has allowed the People's War to gain a
small foothold in the region. However, according to
Jeyaranjan, the People's War is not indigenous to
Dharmapuri and does not have Veerappan's knowledge of the
forests, limiting their activities to the plains.
Jeyaranjan speculated that the STF would remain in
Dharmapuri for at least a year, making expansion
difficult for the People's War.

-------------- --------------
GOTN RECOGIZES NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT, BUT PLANS VAGUE
-------------- --------------


12. (U) With Veerappan no longer terrorizing government
and police officials in Dharmapuri, the way is clear for
the GoTN to integrate Tamil Nadu's "Wild West" into the
rest of the state. According to Professor K. Nagaraj of
the Madras Institute for Development Studies, "The state
government has invested heavily in the area," promoting
mango cultivation and floriculture. However, the forests
remain isolated and cut off from the rest of the state's
infrastructure. The Chief Minister has talked of an
integrated development plan, but her Home Secretary,
Sheela Rani Chunkath, was not able to elaborate on the
details of the plan. "No money has been allocated yet,"
she said.

-------------- --------------
GOTN'S TASK: DEVELOP REGION OR FACE NEW SECURITY THREATS
-------------- --------------


13. (SBU) Comment: While Veerappan's death removed the
main security threat in Dharmapuri, the conditions that
spawned his power remain. Its poverty, isolation, and
lack of infrastructure leave the area ripe for further
security threats. The current contenders for power lack
either knowledge of the local terrain or local political
support, giving the GoTN time to bring this comparatively
lawless region back into its reach. However, if the
Chief Minister fails to deliver the development she
promises, the region could remain the "Wild West" of
Tamil Nadu and pose future security concerns for the
state. END COMMENT.

HAYNES