Book review: Recounting the chase with aplomb!

If K. Vijay Kumar wanted, he could have written an autobiography — perhaps titled “Supercop”, which would have been a runaway bestseller given the numerous accomplishments he has against his name as an IPS officer. Vijay Kumar was among the first batch of IPS officers to join the SPG, the Special Protection Group that guards Prime Ministers; he also had a successful tenure fighting militancy in Kashmir in the late 1990s while serving in the Border Security Force besides various postings in the Tamil Nadu Police. He is, however, best known for eliminating the dreaded brigand Veerappan in 2004 as head of the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force (STF).

It is therefore fitting that Vijay Kumar has chosen to write on one of the most challenging assignments he undertook in a career spanning over three decades. Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand is an unputdownable book, specially for those who love thrillers.

The book is not fiction, but the incredible detailing that Vijay Kumar has managed to pack into this 250-page book will leave the reader gasping. Interspersed with vignettes from his career and personal life — the brutally hard training he underwent in the Alps after becoming a member of the Close Protection Team (CPT) that forms the innermost ring of protection around the Prime Minister; his experience as SP of Salem district, or the fact that he chose to remain in the IPS despite qualifying for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) — the book traces the painful journey of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka police in trying to capture or kill Veerappan who was truly the lord of the jungle spread over 1,200 sq. km across the three states.

For nearly three decades, Veerappan had built an impregnable fortress in the jungles, running an empire built on income from loot, ransom and smuggling. Reputed to have killed an elephant when still a juvenile, Veerappan knew the forest like his backyard. Despite 20 years of attempts by police forces of three states, Veerappan had remained elusive. Time and again, he had kidnapped and ruthlessly murdered forest officials, informers and even policemen. In one instance, he had brutally beheaded a Karnataka forest official blaming him for the suicide of his sister. The officer’s head was apparently found three years after he was lured and trapped by Veerappan’s gang. Cunning, suspicious of everyone around him and absolutely comfortable operating in the forest Veerappan also had a keen eye for tactics and strategy and could have made an excellent commander had he not chosen to lead the life of a bandit.

Vijay Kumar’s book is important to read not only because of the insights it provides into what constitutes police work but also the thankless job that policemen often do. Police forces often face criticism — in many cases valid and justified —because of widespread corruption, unjustified brutality and seemingly low rate of success in prosecuting criminals. The STFs in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were routinely criticised for their failure to nab Veerappan for so long and the apparent impunity with which he operated in his area of influence. Vijay Kumar traces the early history of the cat and mouse game between the police and Veerappan, the gradual whittling down of the bandit’s gang through desertion and attrition enforced by the law enforcers.

However despite being reduced to a single digit in the early 2000s from a high of 150 members in the 1990s, Veerappan continued to remain at large. It took a patient, longish operation to finally lure the brigand out into a semi-urban setting where he met his nemesis.

Vijay Kumar, chosen personally by the late J. Jayalalithaa to head the STF in 2001 (there is a nice passage where he narrates how one phone call from the then Tamil Nadu chief minister ensured that Vijay Kumar was repatriated back to the Tamil Nadu cadre, even before he could finish his five-year stint in the BSF), revitalised the STF, revamped the intelligence network and through a combination of guile, technology and by simply leading from the front, delivered the prized trophy in less than three years.

Behind the success, as Vijay Kumar himself acknowledges, was the blood, sweat and toil of hundreds of policemen and informers. Legendary cops Walter Devaram and Shankar Bidari and many colleagues from both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka find repeated mention for their important contribution in waging a relentless battle of attrition against Veerappan — notwithstanding several lives lost in the line of duty — which reduced Veerappan’s gang to a single digit. Finally, when he was gunned down outside Padi near Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu on October 18,  2004, 20 years of battle was over in 20 minutes. By the count of ballistics experts, in the encounter that began at 10.50 pm, 24 policemen fired 338 bullets on the vehicle that carried Veerappan and three members of his gang after they had been lured into the kill area, out of the forest. Three bullets were found to have hit Veerappan. Of the three, one went clean through the left eye. Ironically, Veerappan was travelling in what he believed was an ambulance taking him to Salem for treatment of his failing eyesight but was, in fact, a decoy vehicle sent by Vijay Kumar’s STF.

One important factor for the eventual success achieved by the Tamil Nadu STF must be noted here: Unflinching faith reposed by former chief minister Jayalalithaa in the abilities of her officers. Vijay Kumar mentions at least thrice how Jayalalithaa provided without hesitation whatever vital equipment and resources the STF needed and provided them without any bureaucratic delay. She never interfered either in the day-to-day functioning of the STF and was patient enough to wait for the eventual result. Police officers backed by well-meaning and decisive politicians can achieve the impossible.

Vijay Kumar says he took a long time to complete the book although the initial draft was ready within two years of his great accomplishment. That wait has certainly been worth it.

Nitin A. Gokhale is a veteran journalist and a specialist in conflict reporting