Veerappan
Indian criminal (1952–2004)
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Interest in “Veerappan” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-22.
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Key Takeaways
- Koose Munisamy Veerappan (18 January 1952 – 18 October 2004) was an Indian poacher, smuggler, domestic terrorist and bandit who was active for 36 years, and kidnapped major politicians for ransom.
- He was wanted for killing around 184 people, about half of whom were police officers and forest officials.
- 6 million (₹16 crore) and about 65 tons of sandalwood worth approximately US$22 million (₹143 crore).
- Personal life Veerappan was born into a Tamil family in Gopinatham, Kollegala, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka, formerly known as Madras state, in 1952.
- As of 2004, his two daughters, Vidya Rani (born in 1990) and Prabha (born in 1993), were studying in Tamil Nadu.
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Source summary
WikipediaKoose Munisamy Veerappan (18 January 1952 – 18 October 2004) was an Indian poacher, smuggler, domestic terrorist and bandit who was active for 36 years, and kidnapped major politicians for ransom. He was charged with sandalwood smuggling and poaching of elephants in the scrub lands and forests in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. He was wanted for killing around 184 people, about half of whom were police officers and forest officials. He was also responsible for poaching approximately 500 of the 2,000 elephants killed in the peninsular region where he was active and for smuggling ivory worth US$2.6 million (₹16 crore) and about 65 tons of sandalwood worth approximately US$22 million (₹143 crore).
The battle to capture Veerappan cost the governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over ₹100 crore.
Veerappan was born into a Tamil family in Gopinatham, Kollegala, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka, formerly known as Madras state, in 1952. In 1990, he was married to Muthulakshmi, who reportedly married him because of his "notoriety and moustache". As of 2004, his two daughters, Vidya Rani (born in 1990) and Prabha (born in 1993), were studying in Tamil Nadu. He had support from the Pattali Makkal Katchi party which openly sought for clemency on behalf of Veerappan.
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