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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:08,280 [foreboding music playing] 2 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:10,520 [distant crows cawing] 3 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:17,120 [Interviewer in Tamil] Who is Veerappan? 4 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:21,000 [Muthulakshmi] My husband. 5 00:00:21,079 --> 00:00:23,560 [Interviewer] What do you like the most about him? 6 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,280 If someone was true to him, 7 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:30,960 he was even ready to sacrifice his life. 8 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:35,760 But if someone tries to betray him, 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:37,560 he wouldn't hesitate to kill them. 10 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,760 [theme song playing] 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,840 [journalist in English] There has never been a set of developments like this 12 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,000 in the history of the modern world. 13 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,920 There never ever has been a man, a criminal like Veerappan. 14 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:06,160 [siren wailing] 15 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:12,360 [female reporter] Veerappan and his gang members 16 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:15,240 have killed 119 persons so far. 17 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:19,800 Despite a decade-long effort by two states to nab this dreaded criminal, 18 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:22,520 he has run away scot-free every time. 19 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:26,200 It is a matter of concern for the whole country. 20 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:31,240 We are going hammer and tongs to get at the forest brigand Veerappan. 21 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:33,320 [theme song continues] 22 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,960 [police officer] How could he hold two states to ransom? 23 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,920 It was not insurgency, it was not terrorism. 24 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,040 Veerappan's phenomenon is a unique phenomenon. 25 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,200 -[hissing] -He was a wild animal in human form. 26 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:04,680 [journalist] The hunt for him became one of the longest, 27 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,600 costliest manhunts in the history of India. 28 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:10,640 [Veerappan in Tamil] "We must catch Veerappan at any cost," they said. 29 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:13,479 Like hell you will! Fuck off, you bastards. 30 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,480 People who come here to catch me won't go back alive. [chuckles] 31 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:18,360 [theme song continues] 32 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:43,600 [distant animals calling] 33 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:45,840 [pensive music playing] 34 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,520 [Muthulakshmi] Back then not many had met Veerappan in person. 35 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:52,960 But news about him spread around. 36 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,160 "Veerappan hunts elephants." 37 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,320 "He had committed two murders too." 38 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:06,480 "So the forest officials and police are looking for him." 39 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:09,920 "He could jump from one cliff to another." 40 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:11,360 "He can never be caught." 41 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:16,600 At one point, the gang was staying 42 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,840 at the lowland near our house. 43 00:03:20,920 --> 00:03:26,120 When he walked, he always kept his gun like this. [chuckles] 44 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:27,920 He'd walk in front with the gun, 45 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,680 and 15 to 20 of them would follow him in a line. 46 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:34,000 All of them had guns. 47 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:36,680 It was an attractive sight. 48 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:39,400 [soft instrumental music playing] 49 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,640 There was a huge albizia tree and I stood behind it. 50 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:47,560 I did not completely reveal myself. 51 00:03:50,240 --> 00:03:52,720 I could only see his mustache. 52 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:56,840 He said, "Muthu, come here." 53 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,600 That sent a shiver down my spine. 54 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,000 I was wondering how this man knew my name. 55 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:06,040 And why he wants to talk to me. 56 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,600 "Muthu, come here. I need to ask you something." 57 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:14,280 "I'm thinking about marrying you. What do you think about that?" 58 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,160 [bird squawking] 59 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:22,480 He said, "If you refuse to marry me, 60 00:04:23,959 --> 00:04:27,440 I'll not look at another woman in this lifetime." 61 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:32,520 "I'll turn my heart to stone." 62 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,240 [chuckling] I let him melt my heart with just that statement. 63 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,080 [Interviewer] How old were you at the time? 64 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:49,880 I must have been 14 or 15 years old. 65 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:52,520 Fifteen years old. 66 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:55,600 [Interviewer] How old was he? 67 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:58,800 [Muthulakshmi] He was 39 years old. 68 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,400 I didn't expect my life will take this direction. 69 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:10,640 [wind whistling] 70 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:20,360 [journalist in English] Beyond Kollegal, lay the jungles of the MM Hills. 71 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:22,240 [birds chirping] 72 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,160 The deep gorges, the forested mountains, 73 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:30,040 the unfathomable chasms that exist there... 74 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:39,640 There have been places where no man has ever set foot at all. 75 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,720 And it is in a setting like this 76 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:52,320 that India's most dangerous criminal existed. 77 00:05:54,600 --> 00:06:00,480 This was my first ever attempt at investigative journalism. 78 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:09,240 I found my way to Gopinatham, Veerappan's hometown. 79 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:10,240 [bell tolling] 80 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,640 A rural hamlet on the border of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 81 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,720 But nobody was willing to talk about Veerappan openly. 82 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:23,840 -[man in Tamil] Do you know... -I don't know anything about him. 83 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,320 -I just don't want to talk about him. -[man] If you know, you can share with me. 84 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,160 We don't know anything about him. 85 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:34,480 [Sunaad in English] There was illiteracy, 86 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:36,120 poverty, 87 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:38,720 hunger, 88 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,360 and the only way out 89 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:45,760 was to take advantage 90 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,480 of the humongous forest wealth that lay all around. 91 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,440 For Veerappan, that is how it all began. 92 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:57,720 [suspenseful music playing] 93 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,520 [Interviewer] With respect to crime in forests... 94 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:04,320 [forest officer] Crime in forests? 95 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:05,960 No one could match Veerappan. 96 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:10,960 Crime in forests, crime to wildlife, Veerappan has been the leader. 97 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,800 Maybe the leader of last five decades, maybe last six decades. 98 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,480 And to my bad luck, 99 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,880 I was the DFO, 'District Forest Officer', for that forest. 100 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,760 Combined together, nearly 15,000 square kilometer area 101 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:31,080 Veerappan was operating. 102 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:32,280 [elephant trumpets] 103 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,360 [Interviewer] In what sense was he different from other poachers? 104 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:41,240 His conviction. His courage. His, uh, fearlessness. 105 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:42,920 Ninety-nine out of hundred criminals 106 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,240 will not go near the front two legs of the elephant. 107 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,520 Whereas Veerappan could go very close to elephant. 108 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:53,600 [elephant growling] 109 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:01,800 [gang member in Tamil] Veerappan was the first from Gopinatham 110 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:03,040 to shoot an elephant. 111 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,000 [gripping music playing] 112 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,520 He started running gangs. 113 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,160 He started bringing revenue. Slowly he became the leader. 114 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,520 -[gunshots] -At first, we operated locally. 115 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:30,760 [elephants trumpeting] 116 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,200 As we were growing bigger and bigger, 117 00:08:35,680 --> 00:08:38,240 money started pouring in. 118 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:41,520 Elephants had to die for it. 119 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,320 [elephants growling] 120 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:45,280 We had no qualms about it. 121 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,720 [B K Singh] He was so confident because with muzzleloader, 122 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:51,720 you can't be very sure of the shot. 123 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,680 You can't be very sure that you will make the shot correctly. 124 00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,720 [Mahalingam in Tamil] If he had a good shot, he took it. 125 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:04,400 Shot to the head or the heart. 126 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:07,640 -[gunshot] -[elephant groaning] 127 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,000 [B K Singh in English] There was a hardcore criminality in him. 128 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,720 He must have killed nearly 1000-odd elephants. 129 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,080 And there must have been a time, he himself has admitted, 130 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,400 that there is no tusker moving in the forest. 131 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,200 He has finished all of them. 132 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,280 And if at all there is some tusker, it will be in the womb of the mother. 133 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:42,000 Somewhere it has to be stopped. It cannot be allowed to be continued. 134 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,680 Those days, the heads of the departments were telling me, 135 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:50,920 "Mr. Singh, why can't you create a chain of your men, 200-odd men, 136 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:52,720 and then close into him?" 137 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:55,880 I only laughed. He has not seen the terrain. 138 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,760 Huge jungle, I tell you. Huge jungle. 139 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:09,920 Looking for a needle in the haystack, you will not be able to locate anything. 140 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,600 So what is the method? What is the option? What is the way out? 141 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:21,800 "Let us create a rival gang who will help us in 142 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:23,720 {\an8}bringing information against Veerappan." 143 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,160 {\an8}So that they can act and apprehend him. 144 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:30,880 Some seized police guns were given to rival gang. 145 00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:36,560 Why? So that if necessary, you kill Veerappan and come and report to us. 146 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:38,640 [Interviewer] But isn't this a crime? 147 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:41,720 One hundred percent. It is indeed a crime. 148 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:44,520 And it is... It is illegal. It is definitely illegal. 149 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,920 But how else to get a bigger thorn removed from your leg, 150 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:49,880 without using a smaller thorn? 151 00:10:55,440 --> 00:11:01,680 [in Tamil] We murder only when our back is pushed against the wall. 152 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:05,480 They have the financial backing. 153 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:08,640 The support of the authorities. Muscle. 154 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:12,080 We have only a gun. 155 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:14,160 [distant animals screeching and howling] 156 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:17,840 [B K Singh] All of them were done to death by Veerappan. 157 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,480 And their bodies were disposed in the river Cauvery. 158 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:23,160 Nothing was found. 159 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,000 Very turbulent time. 160 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:31,960 Those days were extremely turbulent. 161 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:38,000 Anyone walking into some of these areas is walking into the death trap. 162 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,160 Forest department was all the time 163 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,920 requesting police department to extend us help. 164 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,840 "If you do not extend help, situation is going to go out of control." 165 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:50,280 But the police department did not act. 166 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:57,240 [Sunaad] It felt like the entire MM Hills area 167 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,160 was the private preserve of Veerappan. 168 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:02,640 [wood cracking] 169 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:15,120 Sandalwood trees have always been state property. 170 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:19,840 The heady fragrance and the precious oils 171 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,320 are in huge demand all over the world. 172 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:28,000 Quite coincidentally, these precious trees 173 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,520 grew in huge abundance in the jungles of the MM Hills 174 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,720 and Veerappan very conveniently 175 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,320 turned from being an elephant poacher to a sandalwood smuggler. 176 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,200 [gang member in Tamil] The gang knew every inch of the forest, 177 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:53,760 which hills have sandalwood in it. 178 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,120 A lot of the village people were called and sent into the forest. 179 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,680 Some days there were 100, some days there were 300 people. 180 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,880 {\an8}-[goat bleating] -[trees cracking] 181 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,920 The whole area will have a rumbling noise. 182 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:17,040 [intriguing music playing] 183 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:21,960 When the vehicle arrives and gets loaded, 184 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:23,200 I will tell the driver, 185 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,920 "Whether it's the police department or forest department, 186 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,360 if they flag the vehicle, slow down, but don't stop, 187 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,880 and if they stand in the way, just run them over with the lorry." 188 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:39,000 "If they still pursue us, we have guns, we'll figure it out." 189 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,320 After that, four lakhs, five lakhs, six lakhs, 190 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,760 little by little, more loads came. 191 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,000 We got new clothes. 192 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,640 They even began wearing perfume... [chuckles] 193 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:59,440 ...since the money started coming. 194 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,960 If Boss had wished to, he could have bought trucks. 195 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:08,520 Buses. Helicopters. He could have amassed a lot of wealth. 196 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,280 The more he smuggled, his fame kept growing. 197 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,120 He was named the "Forest King" by public, 198 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,680 "Forest King Veerappan, King of Smuggling Sandalwood." 199 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,520 People called him all these names. 200 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,480 [people praying indistinctly] 201 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,800 [Interviewer] Has this ever happened before in Tamil Nadu? 202 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,960 [gang member] No, it was unprecedented. 203 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,160 He was a Forest King indeed. 204 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,200 He mingled with members of all caste and creed 205 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,040 without any discrimination or difference. 206 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,480 His gang had members from every caste. I was the youngest of them all. 207 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,320 So many men, so much food, 208 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,680 it had become a village. 209 00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,760 There were people staying in every nook and corner. 210 00:14:56,840 --> 00:14:58,960 Sentries with rifles everywhere. 211 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:00,280 With Veerappan in the center, 212 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,360 issues of the village will come to Veerappan. 213 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:03,840 The cases held up in court 214 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,880 were brought to Veerappan for justice. 215 00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,360 [Muthulakshmi] Whenever he had a guest, 216 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,720 the first thing he'd ask them was, "Have you eaten?" 217 00:15:15,120 --> 00:15:18,520 He went without food for many days during childhood. 218 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,560 "What is one going to do with all that money?" 219 00:15:21,640 --> 00:15:23,520 "We should give it to those in need." 220 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,680 "The poor remain poor, and the rich want to remain rich." 221 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:35,480 "It makes me really sad," he would say. 222 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:39,840 [Anburaj] The people who live in the hills, 223 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,800 all of them considered Veerappan as the "forest angel". 224 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:49,760 They'd come and kiss his hand. Both men and women would hug him tightly. 225 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,360 This was how he twirled his mustache. 226 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:57,080 He'd twirl his mustache and smile like this. 227 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:02,960 He would constantly twirl his mustache with his hand. 228 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,360 [Sunaad in English] He always had to have this huge, big mustache. 229 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:15,880 I mean, if you are a big zamindar or a landlord in the village, 230 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:17,640 you sport a huge mustache. 231 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,840 It is one of the symbols of authority, of strength, of importance. 232 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:28,760 The mustache became an integral part of his persona. 233 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,640 -[birds chirping] -[distant rooster crows] 234 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,600 [Interviewer in Tamil] Why did the people listen to him? 235 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,600 Was it because of his gun, or was it his words? 236 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:44,800 It was because of his integrity. 237 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,880 Uh, he was a man of his word. 238 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,520 Uh, he always gave me that hope 239 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:02,440 that someday we will live a normal life in the society. 240 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:09,839 He told me, "I've located a land in Assam." 241 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,079 "I went and checked out the entire property and came back." 242 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:21,640 "If I sell the remaining sandalwood, we'll have money for ourselves." 243 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:23,560 "We can live there in hiding." 244 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:30,000 "Once we sell these sandalwood loads, we will move out." 245 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,200 [in English] So for six months, sandalwood was cut. 246 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:38,800 And forests were practically sandal-less. 247 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:42,160 All other trees you will find in the forest. 248 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,080 Only sandalwood you will not find. 249 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:50,520 For the first time, forest department 250 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,560 started getting some support from police. 251 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:55,560 We took lot of time in preparation. 252 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:56,880 More than two months. 253 00:17:56,960 --> 00:17:59,400 Because we had one shot, that's all. 254 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,480 "Let us go after the sandalwood. Let us seize the sandalwood." 255 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:04,960 -[soft instrumental music playing] -[cows mooing] 256 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,360 [Muthulakshmi in Tamil] He was of the opinion 257 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,760 that his wedding should remain a secret. 258 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:25,680 I was not able to sense any kind of overwhelming happiness in him. 259 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,240 [clicks tongue] Something was disturbing him. 260 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,040 Exactly when the nuptial thread 261 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:39,680 was being tied around my neck, the gunfight in the forests erupted. 262 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:43,840 [foreboding music playing] 263 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:51,800 Just as we came home, a guy came running from Palar and said, 264 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,920 "Uncle, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu police attacked us, 265 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,560 and we couldn't do much." 266 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,880 "They have taken all our wood and burned our trucks." 267 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,560 [Sunaad in English] The raid was highly coordinated, 268 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:15,400 the authorities seized whopping 65 metric tons of sandal. 269 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,080 Even to this day, 270 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,680 is the largest sandalwood seizure in the history of the world. 271 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:28,800 Veerappan's business empire 272 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,800 which was slowly beginning to take shape and thrive, crumbled. 273 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,560 [in Tamil] Does the forest belong only to them? Does it not belong to us too? 274 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:43,600 If they had created jobs for the villagers, 275 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:45,120 why would they continue to do this? 276 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,760 "You make a cot out of sandalwood for the Chief Minister." 277 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,000 "How did you get that wood?" 278 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,080 "When you do it, it is not wrong." 279 00:19:55,160 --> 00:20:00,480 "But when I do it for my livelihood, how can you say it is wrong?" 280 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:02,080 That used to be his question. 281 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:11,440 [K M Govindan] "Kill all the foresters and policemen who come in our way." 282 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:12,640 "Should I come?" 283 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:17,240 "Let me come, and you watch how many people I will kill." 284 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:20,560 [distant owl hooting] 285 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,560 [vehicle running] 286 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:38,440 [guns firing] 287 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:41,720 [indistinct chatter and static on radio] 288 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,200 [newsreader in English] Forest brigand and sandalwood smuggler, 289 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:46,960 Veerappan, has attacked a police jeep, 290 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:52,000 killing four police officers and seriously injuring two others. 291 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,240 [Veerappan in Tamil] Nephew, it was night when they came. It was dark. 292 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,440 I was in a rage and wanted to shoot as many as possible. 293 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:10,320 Their jeep was trying to reverse. We kept shooting... [imitates gunshots] 294 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,200 There was so much blood everywhere. The police kept screaming. 295 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,120 [Sunaad in English] When I heard about this incident, 296 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,000 I was shocked. I was astounded. 297 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:32,000 A villager had become so emboldened 298 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,920 that he would take on the very might of the police force itself. 299 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,960 We'd never heard of anything like this. 300 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:47,640 The Government of Karnataka was forced to react. 301 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:57,040 And the state very promptly set up a Special Task Force 302 00:21:57,120 --> 00:21:58,720 to nab Veerappan. 303 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:02,800 It came to be known as the STF. 304 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:06,800 The hunt had begun. 305 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:08,880 [dramatic music playing] 306 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,400 [police officer] Twenty-five officers sat in the big helicopter. 307 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,920 We crossed, uh, Gopinatham. 308 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,320 And the river I could see, Cauvery River. 309 00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:29,320 The helicopter was flying so low, lot of elephants were running. 310 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:30,600 Bisons were running. 311 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:34,960 Just like an English movie, Rambo English movie. 312 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,560 [helicopter blades whirring] 313 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:39,560 It is like a war field. 314 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,400 Men are with their mounted LMGs. 315 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,920 And all around with sandbags. 316 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,320 And, no, I was not nervous. 317 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:53,480 But I was thinking that something very serious thing is happening here. 318 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:03,320 {\an8}I was known for some toughness. 319 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,920 {\an8}I detected very sensational murder cases of Bangalore City. 320 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:13,760 I shot one notorious rowdy, an underworld don of Bangalore City. 321 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:18,640 Why I am telling this is, I created my name in the department. 322 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:21,040 I was in limelight as a police officer. 323 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:28,040 So definitely, I can finish this fellow, Veerappan. 324 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,400 It was in our mind, 325 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,440 by combing the forest, we would come across Veerappan 326 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:36,400 and we can shoot or nab him. 327 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,560 He has a gang, group people are there. 328 00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,040 With some few ladies, Muthulakshmi was also with the gang. 329 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:48,920 It was like a rat and cat chasing. 330 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,320 [Muthulakshmi in Tamil] That was the start. 331 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,760 The news slowly spread everywhere. 332 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:03,840 For about two to three days I would run and hide if I spotted the police. 333 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:08,600 They were going to each and every house, asking questions about Veerappan. 334 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,960 He took me across the river 335 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:18,160 and we spent a week on the hill. 336 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:22,560 That was my first experience with him inside a forest. 337 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:24,440 [birds squawking] 338 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:28,000 For about two or three days, 339 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:34,560 my dreams were full of elephants chasing us. 340 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:40,960 I told him, "If you die, I'll also die." 341 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:45,680 "If you decide to jump off a cliff, I'm ready to do that, as well." 342 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:48,400 [suspenseful music playing] 343 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,960 [in English] I was seeing some ray of light. I was having some hope. 344 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:01,720 I thought now within about a year or so, we'll be able to catch Veerappan. 345 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,160 ['Tiger' Ashok] It is a Darwin theory, survival of the fittest. 346 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:11,880 But we were not knowing the difficulty of the operation. 347 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,840 In summer, absolutely no water. 348 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:20,840 No water at all. 349 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,200 We used to lick the water drops early morning on the grass. 350 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:31,360 And in winter, it is tremendous cold. 351 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,800 The mist is like rain only. 352 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:40,120 See, we were not like army people, trained so tough for the terrain. 353 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:41,960 We were from Bangalore. 354 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:46,400 So we had such difficulty in the forest. 355 00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:51,880 [B K Singh] All these people wanted to come and try their luck. 356 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:53,960 All these people. They thought... 357 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:55,240 "What type of people you are?" 358 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,440 "You've not caught Veerappan? I'm coming on such and such day." 359 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:00,840 "One week I'll stay, and we will get Veerappan." 360 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:02,400 They came, 361 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:04,040 camped, 362 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:05,920 changed their dress, 363 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,000 changed their style, 364 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,480 and failed to get anywhere near Veerappan. 365 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,600 To catch a criminal, there are two methods. 366 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,840 Either you go after him. Get his location, go after him. 367 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,120 Then the other method is, make him surrender. 368 00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,600 Then how to make him surrender? Now you have to act psychologically. 369 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:31,480 And in that connection, I must take the name 370 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,080 of senior forest officer, Srinivas. 371 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:44,920 Srinivas was a person who was very much interested in reforming people. 372 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,360 Gandhian type of person. 373 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:49,440 Without even hitting a person, he would like to reform them. 374 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,040 He was planning to persuade him to surrender. 375 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:56,600 To rehabilitate him. 376 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:02,360 While we were taking up aggressive patrolling in the forest, 377 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:09,200 Srinivas was building his relationship with the kith and kin of the gang members. 378 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:12,400 -[distant bell tolling] -[distant cows mooing] 379 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:18,280 He opened his headquarters, his house, his place in Gopinatham. 380 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:24,080 Every single human being of Gopinatham was loving Srinivas. 381 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,160 [soft hopeful music playing] 382 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,280 [in Tamil] The other officials put forward their demands. 383 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:34,880 They asked for our help to catch Veerappan in return. 384 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,600 But he had a different method. 385 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,080 He cleaned our temple and renovated it. 386 00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,320 [Selvi] He built houses for people who didn't have one. 387 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,720 He gave medicines to the sick. 388 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:00,240 Drove pregnant women to the hospital for delivery. 389 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:02,520 When I was pregnant, he took me as well. 390 00:28:04,760 --> 00:28:06,520 He was genuinely a good person. 391 00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:11,280 He is not a good man. 392 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:15,960 And he put on an act. 393 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:19,880 He wanted to know why the villagers treated Veerappan like a God, 394 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,680 and he found out why. [clicks tongue] 395 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:27,040 "Veerappan is very kind and affectionate with everyone." 396 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:30,160 "He solves the problems of his villagers." 397 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:33,440 "So if I start doing the things that Veerappan does for them..." 398 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:37,240 "Will the villagers trust Veerappan or me, the DFO?" 399 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:44,480 My husband was filled with rage towards DFO Srinivas. 400 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:46,560 [suspenseful music playing] 401 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,440 ['Tiger' Ashok in English] People became very close to Srinivas 402 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:53,280 and slowly the information was coming. 403 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:57,840 Srinivas became whole and sole in charge of the STF. 404 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,920 [Muthulakshmi in Tamil] We were staying at the foothills 405 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,160 of Bodhamalai for almost a month. 406 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,480 It was autumn. 407 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:21,120 "If we go there, no one will be able to find us." 408 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:24,880 "We've got food rations. We don't have to go anywhere." 409 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:26,960 -[owl hooting] -[trees rustling] 410 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:28,720 [birds chirping] 411 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:30,600 [Anburaj] When it comes to forests, 412 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:32,920 in each and every minute, 413 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,720 there was an ongoing communication between us and its elements. 414 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:38,760 Even right now, I can hear nature talking to me. 415 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:40,800 [imitates bird calls] 416 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:46,680 The gang's attention to nature was at par with the best of the animals. 417 00:29:46,760 --> 00:29:48,720 -[imitates bird calls] -[bird chirping] 418 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:52,080 The gang may be engrossed in doing something entirely different, 419 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:56,000 but their focus remained on the movements and sounds of the forest. 420 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,480 The moment the enemy stepped foot, they were alerted. 421 00:29:58,560 --> 00:29:59,400 [bird chirping] 422 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:04,160 The babblers make a noise, right? They saw the police. 423 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:10,400 A flock of them flew towards my husband, started making noise. [mimics chirping] 424 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,120 He said, "The police are here, run!" 425 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:15,640 Imagine how I felt. 426 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:19,360 "Why did you come here? The police are here, run!" he said. 427 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:22,760 [indistinct chatter and static on radio] 428 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,680 ['Tiger' Ashok in English] The information was perfect information to Srinivas 429 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:31,200 that Bodhamalai is somewhere he takes shelter. 430 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:42,640 From all the directions, the entire radius of 25 kilometers of Bodhamalai 431 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,080 were covered by the Tamil Nadu police and the Karnataka police. 432 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:51,560 But Srinivas gave very strict instructions to all the policemen, 433 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:55,080 "If you sight Veerappan, you should not kill." 434 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:57,360 "You should not open fire on Veerappan." 435 00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:59,240 This was, openly he told. 436 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,720 -[animals calling] -[leaves rustling] 437 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,720 [Muthulakshmi in Tamil] "Veerappan, come out. I won't shoot you." 438 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,160 I heard DFO Srinivas call out to my husband. 439 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,520 -[branches creaking] -[birds chirping] 440 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,520 It was a tense moment. 441 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:23,880 I was pregnant too. What could I have done? 442 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,880 He said, "Crouch and walk." 443 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,680 "Let's go north and escape." 444 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,520 And we finally climbed down Bodhamalai. 445 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:43,520 Out of nowhere, my husband said to me, "You should go and surrender." 446 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:51,640 "In this situation, I can't do anything with you by my side." 447 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:56,080 "The police won't harm you because you are pregnant." 448 00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:59,400 [Interviewer] How many months pregnant were you? 449 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:00,880 [Muthulakshmi] Eight months. 450 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:02,760 [melancholic music playing] 451 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,960 It was a very emotional moment. 452 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:15,520 ['Tiger' Ashok in English] Because of Srinivas, Veerappan escaped. 453 00:32:15,600 --> 00:32:19,000 The entire STF headed by police. 454 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:22,080 But he is a forest official. 455 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,320 He was giving instructions to the police not to shoot. 456 00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,440 We were so furious and angry. 457 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,440 We could have shot Veerappan then and there. 458 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:37,920 Lot of people will say, 459 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,320 "Because he asked me not to fire, therefore I did not fire." 460 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:43,480 Huh? 461 00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:46,520 Don't you think that they are trying to hide their incompetency? 462 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:49,640 Little strong answer, huh? 463 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:54,000 But at the same time, 464 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:59,240 Srinivas made about 20-odd gang members surrender. 465 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:01,280 Surrender to Srinivas. 466 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:07,400 And they were all staying in Srinivas' place in Gopinatham. 467 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:12,720 Can you imagine, in that room, Srinivas was sleeping with 20 of them? 468 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:17,760 And it was with a purpose. 469 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,640 Srinivas wanted them to connect with the remaining ten fellows. 470 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:24,200 To get Veerappan. Srinivas' target was big. 471 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:32,960 [Muthulakshmi in Tamil] I was at the hospital for two months. 472 00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:39,280 The baby was delivered in the tenth month. 473 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:42,680 I stayed at my mother's house 474 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:46,040 until the baby was eight months old. 475 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:48,920 One day, 476 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:54,240 DFO Srinivas was approaching our bungalow and I saw him from a distance. 477 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,480 The DFO was holding his gun just like my husband used to. 478 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:02,880 And our men were following him in a single file. 479 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,160 Just like how they used to walk behind my husband. 480 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:10,240 Later, when I thought about it, I felt really sad. 481 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:17,199 I was thinking of all possible ways to go back to my husband. 482 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,040 I can't live without him. 483 00:34:23,120 --> 00:34:25,480 I couldn't live without seeing him. 484 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:32,560 I had overflowing affection for him, 485 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:35,400 and I became addicted to it. 486 00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:40,520 I received a message from my husband 487 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:46,159 to leave the baby with my parents and join him in the forest. 488 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:54,440 I held the baby close and gave her a kiss. 489 00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:56,800 I had tears in my eyes. 490 00:34:56,880 --> 00:35:01,280 I said, "Mother, please take care of my child for some time." 491 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,160 I am going to be with him. 492 00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:05,040 [water splashing] 493 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:10,880 The police did not search for me. 494 00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,360 [chuckles] 495 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:19,600 They were scared that the gang might shoot at them. 496 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:24,520 Uh, they didn't search for me until morning. 497 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:30,040 [Sunaad in English] Muthulakshmi escaped back into the jungle 498 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:32,640 and this only created further discontent 499 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:36,200 which had already been growing within the ranks of the STF. 500 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:43,040 Srinivas' actions did not go well with some of the officers in the STF. 501 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:47,680 They did not take kindly to his philosophy of reconciliation. 502 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:53,240 And this led to a certain degree of friction. 503 00:35:55,680 --> 00:36:00,560 Because Srinivas was the only person who had made this progress. 504 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,120 And others did not even catch one case. 505 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,080 Did not make even one guy to surrender. 506 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:09,160 The entire police department of Karnataka was frustrated. 507 00:36:09,720 --> 00:36:15,000 And to take out their frustration, they were fixing stories against Srinivas. 508 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,080 [suspenseful music playing] 509 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,760 [Sunaad] Mari was a very favorite sister of Veerappan. 510 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:26,400 Srinivas took her in, 511 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:29,600 gave her the job of a nurse. 512 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:33,880 And Mari began to trust Srinivas immensely. 513 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,560 ['Tiger' Ashok] He used to make Mariyamma sit in his jeep 514 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:40,720 at about six, seven o'clock in the night. 515 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:44,720 Villagers were watching, our police people were watching. 516 00:36:44,800 --> 00:36:47,600 And they started gossiping. 517 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:50,680 Even constables were openly talking. 518 00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:54,480 "Srinivas is having affair with Mariyamma." 519 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:04,080 {\an8}[priest in Tamil] There were rumors in the village. 520 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:08,280 {\an8}The word went around that Mari was the DFO's mistress. 521 00:37:09,040 --> 00:37:12,800 I didn't believe that he was the kind of person who would do such a thing. 522 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:17,680 One should only pray to him. He was a very honest man. 523 00:37:22,160 --> 00:37:25,320 Someone with a loose tongue must have spread that rumor. 524 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,160 [in English] In Kannada there is a word called "gaalimath." 525 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:30,360 It went on. Everywhere. 526 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:31,280 Gaalimath means... 527 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:34,960 X will tell it to Y, Y will tell it to Z and A. 528 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,720 A will tell it to B, C, D and so on. 529 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:39,920 It will go on multiplying in geometric progression. 530 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:41,720 [Interviewer] So it definitely reached Veerappan. 531 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:42,800 One hundred percent. 532 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:45,320 Absolutely correct. 533 00:37:46,240 --> 00:37:48,240 [eagle screeching] 534 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:53,760 ['Tiger' Ashok] He wrote a letter to Mariyamma directly. 535 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:58,040 [in Tamil] "The whole world knows the name Veerappan." 536 00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:00,440 [in English] "I am a world figure today." 537 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:04,720 "I am ruling the forest. I am the law of the jungle." 538 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:08,680 "And what the hell you are doing in the village?" 539 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:13,480 "You are having affair with my enemy Srinivas." 540 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:15,200 [eagle screeching] 541 00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:17,720 [Muthulakshmi in Tamil] "If you really are my sister, 542 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:22,880 pour hot oil over him and kill him." 543 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:30,440 "If you are truly my sister, do it, otherwise, never show me your face again." 544 00:38:30,520 --> 00:38:32,520 [suspenseful music continues] 545 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:37,840 [Ammasi] Meanwhile, the police questioned Mari 546 00:38:37,920 --> 00:38:40,000 for being in touch with her brother. 547 00:38:40,680 --> 00:38:46,040 "You won't speak the truth till we give you electric shock." 548 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:47,240 They threatened her. 549 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:52,000 The girl got scared. 550 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:55,240 The girl lost all hope. 551 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:01,680 A young boy came to me and said, "Mariyamma has consumed poison." 552 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:05,000 "I was just talking to her!" I said. 553 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:07,360 "No, she consumed poison." 554 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:12,560 Across the road, there was a well. 555 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:15,560 She came and leaned against the well. 556 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:17,520 She had tears in her eyes. 557 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:20,800 Then I went directly to her. 558 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:22,760 "Who suggested this to you?" 559 00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:25,000 "Why did you do this to yourself?" I asked her and she cried. 560 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,280 They took her to the hospital, but she didn't make it. 561 00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:34,280 After she was brought back dead, the DFO arrived. 562 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:41,080 The others offered to carry the corpse. 563 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:43,880 He said, "Don't come anywhere near me." 564 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:48,440 "I will carry her all the way to the graveyard." 565 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:51,880 I remember the officer crying at the burial grounds 566 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:53,840 like it was today. 567 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:55,880 Like she were his kin. 568 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:01,440 The newspapers carried the news of her death two days later. 569 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:08,600 My husband couldn't eat that day. 570 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:13,280 He sat alone and cried. 571 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:18,040 He strongly felt that DFO Srinivas was responsible for his sister's death. 572 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,440 {\an8}[B K Singh in English] See, he was under tremendous pressure 573 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,680 from the colleagues of the forest department 574 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:36,320 across the state that, "Your life is in danger." 575 00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:40,080 "You leave capturing Veerappan to the police officers." 576 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:45,120 [in Sanskrit] "As doom approaches, your intellect starts working against you." 577 00:40:46,920 --> 00:40:49,760 [in English] So what he did? He had a different plan altogether. 578 00:40:49,840 --> 00:40:52,160 He says, "Sir, give me another 15 days." 579 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,080 What is that 15 days? 580 00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:56,080 Because he was waiting for Arjunan to come. 581 00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:01,600 [Sunaad] Srinivas planned to use Arjunan 582 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:04,720 to somehow convince his brother 583 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,960 to give up his life of crime. 584 00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:11,560 [in Tamil] Arjunan believed the DFO. 585 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:16,440 "Please surrender. We are not able to live in peace because of you." 586 00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:18,480 "See, Mari is dead." 587 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:23,600 "The whole family is suffering." 588 00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:29,040 "Maybe you can surrender and change your life for the better." 589 00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:31,480 My husband said, 590 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:35,520 "All right, I will surrender." 591 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:39,880 "Go fetch the DFO, and then hand him over to me." 592 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:41,960 [foreboding music playing] 593 00:41:47,520 --> 00:41:50,280 [B K Singh in English] From Gopinatham, Srinivas went on foot, 594 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:52,320 walked six kilometers. 595 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:03,200 [in Tamil] Arjunan and the DFO walked enthusiastically ahead of us. 596 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:09,000 As we were starting, the DFO slipped and fell. 597 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:13,520 I told him that it was a bad omen. 598 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:16,560 "We all have to die someday, let's go!" 599 00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:19,160 [clicks tongue] What more could I have told him? 600 00:42:19,640 --> 00:42:21,400 So I went along. 601 00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:28,680 -[birds chirping] -[animals calling] 602 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:33,920 We reached a water crossing. 603 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:37,000 The water was ankle-deep and we had to cross a puddle. 604 00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:39,960 With his slipper on, DFO placed his feet onto a tree's root. 605 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,320 He was trying to wash his soiled feet. 606 00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:45,400 [water lapping] 607 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:51,960 Three shots. 608 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:53,920 [three gunshots] 609 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:55,880 [birds squawking] 610 00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,480 [Veerappan] First shot, and thud, he fell. 611 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:14,600 That DFO thought I was going to surrender after everything he had done to me. 612 00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:19,160 How will I surrender to this scoundrel? [scoffs] 613 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:23,880 I was waiting for this day for a long time. 614 00:43:24,480 --> 00:43:26,960 I took his arms and cut them off. 615 00:43:28,240 --> 00:43:30,200 To get medals and awards, 616 00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:31,800 what's all this drama that you did? 617 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:35,160 He was the reason for my sister's death. 618 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:38,840 I put petrol over his body 619 00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:41,160 and burnt him. 620 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:44,160 Still I couldn't get over my anger. 621 00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:47,200 Then I cut his head off. 622 00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:49,280 [melancholic music playing] 623 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:53,000 I have kept his head as a souvenir. 624 00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:08,000 ['Tiger' Ashok in English] Some humans I've seen... 625 00:44:09,320 --> 00:44:13,040 They cannot be reformed at all. There is no question of reform. 626 00:44:13,120 --> 00:44:15,520 Whatever facility you give, 627 00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:19,080 such characters cannot be reformed. 628 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:21,840 The feeling you get is terrible. 629 00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:25,280 You feel that, "Oh, we were expecting that. He did not listen to us." 630 00:44:25,360 --> 00:44:27,560 "We were expecting this. He did not listen to us." 631 00:44:27,640 --> 00:44:31,680 All the time, everyone is hitting their head and saying this. 632 00:44:35,560 --> 00:44:38,720 [Selvi in Tamil] They dropped him off at the camp. 633 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:40,880 [melancholic song playing] 634 00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:47,640 We ladies went, touched his feet, and cried. 635 00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,080 A good man died, we felt. 636 00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:58,560 [melancholic song continues] 637 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:08,880 [K Munusamy] Is the goal to destroy? It should be to create. 638 00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:13,640 Why destroy such a life? 639 00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:18,880 That's not becoming of a brave person. No matter who it is. 640 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:24,360 They said that the head was gone. 641 00:45:27,800 --> 00:45:29,600 His face was his best feature. 642 00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:34,120 The eyes, the smile. 643 00:45:34,720 --> 00:45:36,480 That's the real beauty. 644 00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:42,600 [voice breaking] What's left to see once that beauty is taken away? 645 00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:49,400 [sobbing softly] 646 00:45:53,800 --> 00:45:55,920 [dramatic music playing] 647 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:01,080 [Interviewer] Veerappan might have believed he was wronged, 648 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:04,000 but why does he always retaliate with another wrongdoing? 649 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:08,560 Why? Because you can only remove a thorn by using another thorn. 650 00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:21,600 [Interviewer] Akka, all hell broke loose here on. 651 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:23,360 Couldn't this have been stopped?54401

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