December 1994. The entire machinery of the Tamil Nadu government was preoccupied with the arrangements for the Eighth World Tamil Conference to be held a month later in Thanjavur.
However, on December 3, forest bandit Veerappan struck near the Sirumugai forest, abducting Chidambaranathan, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption; Rajagopal, head constable, CID, Erode; and Sekar Raja, a physical training instructor at a private school in Coimbatore. Rajagopal was the DSP’s brother and Raja was their relative. Perhaps, it was the first and only occasion that he abducted policemen, though he was known for attacking the men in uniform and police stations in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Needless to say, by the early 1990s, he became the dreaded man for his brutal murder of officials of the Forest Departments of the two States. According to an estimate, he killed 140-odd persons.
