Hunted for years, planned for weeks, how it ended in 20 mins

Through the tarpaulin sheet draped over the Tempo, you could see the bullet marks, the shards of glass, nothing else.

A sort of anti-climax to Operation Cocoon, a mission with all the ingredients of a crime thriller, which finally saw the end of the 53-year-old bandit, with a reward of Rs 5.5 crore on his head.

Extensive interviews with STF chief K Vijaykumar and other officials involved in the operation helped The Indian Express reconstruct the final chase and the hunt:

8226; Over the last few weeks, M M Hills Veerappan country was 8216;8216;flooded8217;8217; with STF personnel, forcing him to move to the eastern forests with sparse vegetation on the right of the Cauvery, specifically the Pennagaram reserve area.

8226; Yesterday morning, the STF Headquarters in Sathyamangalam received 8216;8216;definite information8217;8217; about Veerappan8217;s planned trip via Pennagaram near Hogenekkal falls on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border later that night.

8226; Apparently, Veerappan had developed 8216;8216;problems in his eyes8217;8217; and was looking for treatment.

8226; Helped by 8216;8216;infiltrators,8217;8217; an STF constable, Saravanan, was sent to Veerappan8217;s hideout with an ambulance TN 48 A 6453 emblazoned with the logo of SKS hospital, Salem.

8226; He picked up Veerappan and his three accomplices8212; Govindan, Gowda and Mani, a Tamil Nadu Liberation Army man8212;and hit the Pennagaram-Dharmapuri road.

8226; Meanwhile, the STF had fanned out along three routes8212;Pennagaram-Palacode, Pennagaram-Salem and Pennagaram-Dharmapuri.

8226; Around 10.40 pm, a 25-member STF team entered Papparapatti village on the Pennagaram-Dharmapuri road. 8216;8216;We arrived there only 10 minutes before the actual operation began,8217;8217; said Vijaykumar.

8226; The team divided itself into groups named Cobra, Angel, Rocky and Call Chain and positioned themselves on three trucks, a van and on the terrace of the Seventh Day Matriculation School.

8226; As Veerappan8217;s van rolled in at 10.50 pm, the STF stopped it. Promptly, Saravanan, the STF constable, ran away.

8216;8216;We asked them twice to surrender. We told them they could get out through the rear door. But they started opening fire with a 12-bore shotgun and two AK-47 rifles. In defence, we fired back,8217;8217; said Vijaykumar.

As the firing from the van stopped, Vijaykumar opened the door of the Tempo Traveller, looked at his prize catch and remarked: 8216;8216;He is injured.8217;8217;

Actually, Veerappan was dead.

All the 25 STF men on the spot escaped without major injuries8212;four sustained minor ones. According to Vijaykumar, three STF personnel played a key role in the encounter:

8226; Constable Saravanan, the Tempo Traveller driver: 8216;8216;I was not scared of driving Veerappan for nearly half-an-hour,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;I am happy I could do it.8217;8217;

8226; Constable Murugesan, who had lived in Papparapatti for six or seven days: He 8216;8216;did a sleuth8217;s work8217;8217; collecting crucial information.

8226; Sub-Inspector Velladurai: He helped 8216;8216;trap them8217;8217;.

In the overwhelming sense of relief that has gripped the police and the local establishment, questions about Operation Cocoon were brushed aside.

8226; There are bullet holes in the oil tank of the truck in which the STF personnel were positioned. But the vehicle did not catch fire.

8226; When the STF knew Veerappan8217;s hideout in Papparapatti, it is not known why they had to lure him to a secluded road in the village to catch him?

But Vijaykumar merely said, 8216;8216;I cannot answer certain questions because of the delicacy involved in the issue.8217;8217;

Asked if it was a 8216;8216;fake8217;8217; encounter, Vijaykumar said: 8216;8216;I don8217;t want to react to the question.8221;

Also, he refused to say where Veerappan was heading for: 8216;8216;I can8217;t speculate on it.8217;8217;