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[foreboding music playing]
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[distant crows cawing]
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[Interviewer in Tamil] Who is Veerappan?
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[Muthulakshmi] My husband.
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[Interviewer] What do you like
the most about him?
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If someone was true to him,
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he was even ready to sacrifice his life.
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But if someone tries to betray him,
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he wouldn't hesitate to kill them.
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[theme song playing]
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[journalist in English] There has never
been a set of developments like this
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in the history of the modern world.
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There never ever has been a man,
a criminal like Veerappan.
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[siren wailing]
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[female reporter]
Veerappan and his gang members
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have killed 119 persons so far.
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Despite a decade-long effort by two states
to nab this dreaded criminal,
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he has run away scot-free every time.
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It is a matter of concern
for the whole country.
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We are going hammer and tongs
to get at the forest brigand Veerappan.
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[theme song continues]
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[police officer] How could he
hold two states to ransom?
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It was not insurgency,
it was not terrorism.
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Veerappan's phenomenon
is a unique phenomenon.
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-[hissing]
-He was a wild animal in human form.
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[journalist] The hunt for him
became one of the longest,
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costliest manhunts
in the history of India.
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[Veerappan in Tamil] "We must catch
Veerappan at any cost," they said.
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Like hell you will!
Fuck off, you bastards.
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People who come here to catch me
won't go back alive. [chuckles]
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[theme song continues]
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[distant animals calling]
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[pensive music playing]
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[Muthulakshmi] Back then
not many had met Veerappan in person.
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But news about him spread around.
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"Veerappan hunts elephants."
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"He had committed two murders too."
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"So the forest officials
and police are looking for him."
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"He could jump from one cliff to another."
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"He can never be caught."
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At one point, the gang was staying
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at the lowland near our house.
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When he walked, he always
kept his gun like this. [chuckles]
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He'd walk in front with the gun,
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and 15 to 20 of them
would follow him in a line.
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All of them had guns.
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It was an attractive sight.
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[soft instrumental music playing]
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There was a huge albizia tree
and I stood behind it.
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I did not completely reveal myself.
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I could only see his mustache.
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He said, "Muthu, come here."
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That sent a shiver down my spine.
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I was wondering how this man knew my name.
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And why he wants to talk to me.
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"Muthu, come here.
I need to ask you something."
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"I'm thinking about marrying you.
What do you think about that?"
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[bird squawking]
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He said, "If you refuse to marry me,
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I'll not look at another woman
in this lifetime."
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"I'll turn my heart to stone."
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[chuckling] I let him melt my heart
with just that statement.
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[Interviewer] How old were you
at the time?
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I must have been 14 or 15 years old.
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Fifteen years old.
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[Interviewer] How old was he?
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[Muthulakshmi] He was 39 years old.
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I didn't expect
my life will take this direction.
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[wind whistling]
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[journalist in English] Beyond Kollegal,
lay the jungles of the MM Hills.
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[birds chirping]
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The deep gorges, the forested mountains,
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the unfathomable chasms that exist there...
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There have been places
where no man has ever set foot at all.
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And it is in a setting like this
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that India's
most dangerous criminal existed.
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This was my first ever
attempt at investigative journalism.
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I found my way to Gopinatham,
Veerappan's hometown.
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[bell tolling]
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A rural hamlet on the border
of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
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But nobody was willing
to talk about Veerappan openly.
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-[man in Tamil] Do you know...
-I don't know anything about him.
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-I just don't want to talk about him.
-[man] If you know, you can share with me.
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We don't know anything about him.
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[Sunaad in English] There was illiteracy,
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poverty,
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hunger,
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and the only way out
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was to take advantage
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of the humongous forest wealth
that lay all around.
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For Veerappan, that is how it all began.
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[suspenseful music playing]
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[Interviewer] With respect to
crime in forests...
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[forest officer] Crime in forests?
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No one could match Veerappan.
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Crime in forests, crime to wildlife,
Veerappan has been the leader.
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Maybe the leader of last five decades,
maybe last six decades.
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And to my bad luck,
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I was the DFO, 'District Forest Officer',
for that forest.
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Combined together,
nearly 15,000 square kilometer area
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Veerappan was operating.
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[elephant trumpets]
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[Interviewer] In what sense
was he different from other poachers?
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His conviction.
His courage. His, uh, fearlessness.
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Ninety-nine out of hundred criminals
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will not go near
the front two legs of the elephant.
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Whereas Veerappan
could go very close to elephant.
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[elephant growling]
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[gang member in Tamil] Veerappan
was the first from Gopinatham
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to shoot an elephant.
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[gripping music playing]
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He started running gangs.
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He started bringing revenue.
Slowly he became the leader.
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-[gunshots]
-At first, we operated locally.
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[elephants trumpeting]
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As we were growing bigger and bigger,
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money started pouring in.
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Elephants had to die for it.
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[elephants growling]
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We had no qualms about it.
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[B K Singh] He was so confident
because with muzzleloader,
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you can't be very sure of the shot.
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You can't be very sure
that you will make the shot correctly.
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[Mahalingam in Tamil]
If he had a good shot, he took it.
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Shot to the head or the heart.
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-[gunshot]
-[elephant groaning]
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[B K Singh in English] There was
a hardcore criminality in him.
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He must have killed
nearly 1000-odd elephants.
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And there must have been
a time, he himself has admitted,
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that there is no tusker
moving in the forest.
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He has finished all of them.
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And if at all there is some tusker,
it will be in the womb of the mother.
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Somewhere it has to be stopped.
It cannot be allowed to be continued.
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Those days, the heads of
the departments were telling me,
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"Mr. Singh, why can't you create
a chain of your men, 200-odd men,
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and then close into him?"
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I only laughed.
He has not seen the terrain.
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Huge jungle, I tell you. Huge jungle.
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Looking for a needle in the haystack,
you will not be able to locate anything.
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So what is the method?
What is the option? What is the way out?
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"Let us create
a rival gang who will help us in
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{\an8}bringing information against Veerappan."
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{\an8}So that they can act and apprehend him.
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Some seized police guns
were given to rival gang.
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Why? So that if necessary, you kill
Veerappan and come and report to us.
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[Interviewer] But isn't this a crime?
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One hundred percent. It is indeed a crime.
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And it is... It is illegal.
It is definitely illegal.
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But how else to get
a bigger thorn removed from your leg,
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without using a smaller thorn?
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[in Tamil] We murder only when our back
is pushed against the wall.
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They have the financial backing.
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The support of the authorities. Muscle.
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We have only a gun.
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[distant animals screeching and howling]
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[B K Singh] All of them
were done to death by Veerappan.
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And their bodies
were disposed in the river Cauvery.
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Nothing was found.
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Very turbulent time.
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Those days were extremely turbulent.
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Anyone walking into some of these areas
is walking into the death trap.
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Forest department was all the time
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requesting police department
to extend us help.
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"If you do not extend help,
situation is going to go out of control."
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But the police department did not act.
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[Sunaad] It felt like
the entire MM Hills area
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was the private preserve of Veerappan.
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[wood cracking]
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Sandalwood trees
have always been state property.
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The heady fragrance and the precious oils
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are in huge demand all over the world.
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Quite coincidentally, these precious trees
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grew in huge abundance
in the jungles of the MM Hills
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and Veerappan very conveniently
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turned from being an elephant poacher
to a sandalwood smuggler.
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[gang member in Tamil] The gang knew
every inch of the forest,
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which hills have sandalwood in it.
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A lot of the village people
were called and sent into the forest.
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Some days there were 100,
some days there were 300 people.
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{\an8}-[goat bleating]
-[trees cracking]
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The whole area will have a rumbling noise.
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[intriguing music playing]
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When the vehicle arrives and gets loaded,
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I will tell the driver,
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"Whether it's the police department
or forest department,
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if they flag the vehicle,
slow down, but don't stop,
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and if they stand in the way,
just run them over with the lorry."
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"If they still pursue us,
we have guns, we'll figure it out."
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After that, four lakhs,
five lakhs, six lakhs,
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little by little, more loads came.
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We got new clothes.
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They even began wearing
perfume... [chuckles]
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...since the money started coming.
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00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,960
If Boss had wished to,
he could have bought trucks.
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Buses. Helicopters.
He could have amassed a lot of wealth.
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The more he smuggled,
his fame kept growing.
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00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,120
He was named the "Forest King" by public,
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00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,680
"Forest King Veerappan,
King of Smuggling Sandalwood."
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People called him all these names.
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00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,480
[people praying indistinctly]
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[Interviewer] Has this
ever happened before in Tamil Nadu?
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[gang member] No, it was unprecedented.
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He was a Forest King indeed.
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He mingled with members
of all caste and creed
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00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,040
without any discrimination or difference.
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00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,480
His gang had members from every caste.
I was the youngest of them all.
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00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,320
So many men, so much food,
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it had become a village.
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00:14:53,240 --> 00:14:56,760
There were people
staying in every nook and corner.
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Sentries with rifles everywhere.
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With Veerappan in the center,
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00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,360
issues of the village
will come to Veerappan.
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00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:03,840
The cases held up in court
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00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,880
were brought to Veerappan for justice.
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00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,360
[Muthulakshmi] Whenever he had a guest,
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00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:13,720
the first thing
he'd ask them was, "Have you eaten?"
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He went without food
for many days during childhood.
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00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,560
"What is one going to do
with all that money?"
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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."
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"It makes me really sad," he would say.
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[Anburaj] The people
who live in the hills,
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00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:44,800
all of them considered
Veerappan as the "forest angel".
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They'd come and kiss his hand.
Both men and women would hug him tightly.
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This was how he twirled his mustache.
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He'd twirl his mustache
and smile like this.
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00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:02,960
He would constantly
twirl his mustache with his hand.
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00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:09,360
[Sunaad in English] He always
had to have this huge, big mustache.
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00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:15,880
I mean, if you are a big zamindar
or a landlord in the village,
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00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:17,640
you sport a huge mustache.
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00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:22,840
It is one of the symbols
of authority, of strength, of importance.
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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]
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00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,600
[Interviewer in Tamil]
Why did the people listen to him?
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00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,600
Was it because of his gun,
or was it his words?
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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.
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00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:57,520
Uh, he always gave me that hope
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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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