Veerappan

Veerappan (born 1945) is a legendary bandit in India.

He started off with poaching elephants at the age of ten. Over the years, he formed his gang which became a menace for the authorities of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. His gang has killed several police officers. He has also been known to kidnap prominent people to make demands starting with a forest official in 1987.

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 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.