BSF on Veerappan’s trail, all the way from N-E

However, while the BSF’s battalion, which includes a 40-member strong commando force called the Quick Reaction Team, is already heading for Veerappanland, NSG bosses say they haven’t yet received official intimation that they’re part of the bandwagon. NSG Director General Nikhil Kumar says there were no immediate plans for commando deployment in the jungles. “We have received no instructions for being tasked for the Veerappan operations as yet,” he said.

Vijay Kumar, the BSF’s Inspector General (IG) Operations, who spent a year raising the Special Security Group in Tamil Nadu, says the division of work is very clear. “The BSF will provide the tactical muscle and the strike force while the local police will provide the intelligence and information about the gang,” he explained.

He added that since a sizeable strength of the BSF was presently deployed for Counter-Insurgency (CI) operations, the manhunt in forested terrain will not be too difficult an assignment. “The BSF is used to typical combing and search operations. We will also have to check the trend of Tamil extremists being allowed to enter and re-enter the forest.”

The BSF has been put on Veerappan’s trail after a six-year long gap. In 1994, four companies (around 500 men) spent a year in the jungle. “The BSF had limited success in 1994,” recalls an officer who was part of the operations. “There were a number of encounters but the prize catch remained elusive. That’s why the current plan has been mounted on the premise that the BSF will first complete its combing operations and then call in the NSG for the sting operations.”