Veerappan’s wife to bring out a book on the slain bandit

Muthulakshmi, wife of the notorious jungle outlaw Veerappan is planning to bring out a book on her slain husband shortly.

Titled “Naan Arintha Veerappan” (The Veerappan I know), the book is expected to unravel the Veerappan made and destroyed by politicians of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. “It will be a 400-page book with exclusive pictures”, Muthulakshmi told reporters.

Though she had slated the launch of the book for September 18, the third death anniversary of Veerappan, who was gunned down in an encounter by the Special Task Force of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Muthulakshmi said the book and already been completed, but is release had been slightly delayed.

The new book on Veerappan, authored by his own wife, will be published in not only Tamil and Kannada, but also Mayalayam and English.

When Muthulakshmi was asked whether the book would throw light on the best-kept secrets of Veerappan, including the abduction of Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar and former Karnataka Minister Nagappa, the slain bandit’s wife sought to keep the suspense alive by claiming “Wait and Watch”.

However, Muthulakshmi is not the only person bringing out a book on Veerappan , who continues to fascinate people even three years after his terror-filled reign in the forests of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was cut short by the STF team in a meticulously executed operation on September 18, 2004.

Former Chief of Karnataka’s STF Shankar Bidri, whose operations against the bandit had brought down the number of persons in Veerappan’s gang to a handful, is also bringing out a book. “I have written nothing but the truth, which may be hard to digest”, he said. Shankar Bidri’s book will also contain some rare pictures.

Tamil Nadu’s Additional Director General of Police K Vijaykumar, who had led the successful operation against Veerappan in Paparapatti village in Dharmapuri on the fateful September 18, 2004, is racing against time to finish the yet-to-be-titled book.

Vijaykumar is understood to be piecing together a book on Veerappan using the many sensitive documents that had come into his possession during his stint as STF chief.

Books on Veerappan have been sold like hot cakes, particularly in South India. “Veerappan, the Untold Story” authored by Sunaad Raghuram and brought out by Penguin figured in the list of best-sellers.

Similiarly, former Karnataka Director General of Police C Dinakar’s controversial book “Veerappan’s prize catch: Rajkumar” had sold more than 250,000 copies within months after its release.