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Veerappan was born in Gopinatham village in Karnataka to a family of cattle-grazers. At age eighteen he joined a gang of poacherPoacher has two different meanings: A poacher is someone who engages in poaching the theft or killing of animals or plants, or sometimes artifacts. In biology, poachers are a family ( Agonidae) of fish.s. Over the years, he eliminated members of a rival gang, and controlled the entire forest belt. He made money smuggling sandalwood trees and killing tuskerTusker can mean: Kenya's well known beer. It has won many international prizes and is available virtually everywhere in the world. an elephant bearing tusks a 2004 DreamWorks SKG film Tusker (computer game) for Amiga computer system.s for ivory. Although he is widely believed to have killed 2,000 elephants, according to Sunaad Raghuram, Veerappan's biographer who spent four years interviewing people, Veerappan could not have killed more than 200.

His gang of forty members indulged in killing and abductionIn logic, abduction is a method of reasoning; see abductive reasoning. In anatomy and physiology, abduction is the moving of limbs away from the midline of the body; see abductor muscle. In criminal law, abduction is similar to kidnapping but sometimes sp. Most of his victims were police and forest officials and informers. He felt the police were responsible for the suicides of his sister Mari and brother Arjunan. He was also known to kidnap prominent people to make demands, starting with a forest official in 19871987 is a common year starting on Thursday. Events January January 1 Nunavut's capital changes it name to Iqaluit from Frobisher Bay. January 3 Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. January 4 An Amtrak train.

He married Muthulakshmi, a shepherdA shepherd is someone or something who takes care of sheep, usually in flocks in the fields. For specific references, see: A person who tends to sheep. See animal husbandry; pastoral literature. A sheepdog. A euphemistic term for a (usually Christian) pasess, in 19911991 like 2002, is a palindromic year. It also has the same calendar as 2002, including Easter on March 31. It is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January January 2 Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first blac. He had three daughters, Yuvarani, Prabha and another, whom he allegedly strangled to death.

Veerappan had a Robin Hood-like image among the villagers adjoining his native village Gopinatham. The villagers acted as cover to his activities and informed him of police activities. They also provided food and clothing to the gang. However it has been suggested that the villagers helped him because of fear, and that Veerappan helped the villagers with money only to protect himself from being captured. He was very ruthless to villagers who provided the police with information.

He was arrested in 1986, but escaped. According to wildlife photographer Krupakar , who was once kidnapped by the bandit, he paid a bribe of Rs. 1 lakh (Rs. 100,000, about US $2,000) to a policeman to help him escape.

In 1990, the Karnataka government formed a special task force to capture him and put an end to the menace. Soon after, the task force captured several of Veerappan's men. In February 1992, the special task force killed his lieutanant Gurunathan . A few months later, Veerappan attacked a police station, killed several policemen and captured arms and ammunition. This became a regular phenomenon. In 1993, the task force arrested his wife Muthulakshmi. In July 1993, he reportedly strangled his infant daughter, fearing that the child's cry may attract police attention.

Veerappan had impeccable junglecraft skills. Many have said that his mimicry of birds and deer helped him evade capture. He is quoted as having watched The Godfather over 100 times. He was a surprisingly refined man, with a strong penchant for Carnatic music. He was said to be religious and prayed everyday. He was fond of his handlebar moustache and tended to it as a daily routine. He regularly made his communications to the government through emissary R.R. Gopal requesting for amnesty, his desire to start an orphanage, and to join politics, inspired by bandit-turned-Member of Parliament Phoolan Devi.

On July 30, 2000 Veerappan abducted popular Kannada film actor Dr. Rajkumar from his ancestral home. This event put the Karnataka government in a political dilemma of whether or not to call in the army. The decision was reached that to do so would set a poor precedent. Rajkumar was released without harm on November 15, 2000, after 109 days in captivity.

On August 25, 2002 Veerappan kidnapped H. Nagappa , a former state minister. Nagappa was found dead in the forest three months later. The reward offered by the Karnataka state government was increased to 50 million rupees (US $1.1 million).

On October 18, 2004, following a tip-off, Veerappan and two associates were allegedly ambushed and gunned down by Tamil Nadu State Special Task Force near the village of Paparapatti in Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu. His third associate managed to escape. However, the next day his widow claimed that he had been arrested a few days earlier, interrogated and killed by the police (Veerappan had repeatedly threatened, if ever brought to trial, to point a finger at every policemen and politician he had had to bribe to ensure his three-decade long run from justice).

According to media reports, post-mortem photos of Veerappan with a bullet hole above his left eye, seemed to contradict with the official story that the STF, lying in ambush, stopped the ambulance van Veerappan and his gang was travelling in, offered them to surrender and gunned them down when someone from inside the van opened fire. Another possibility, voiced by psychologist, Dr. P.Kodandaram, is that Veerappan and his associates may have committed a collective suicide inside the van when faced with surrender.

Veerappan was buried at the village of Moolakadu , Tamil Nadu. The police said they did not let the burial take place in his home village in Karnataka, fearing the large crowds that had gathered there. Although the police had planned for a cremation, this was objected to by the relatives of Veerappan suggesting that exhumation would be required if there was investigation into his death. Thousands of people turned out for the funeral anyway while others had to be kept away from the burial ground by heavy security.