DHARMAPURI: After hunting down his prize catch, Tamil Nadu Special Task Force chief K. Vijaykumar rushed straight to the Bannari Amman temple in Sathyamangalam in Erode district. He had a special vow to fulfill: he had offered to tonsure his head if ‘Mission Veerappan’ was completed.The goddess was Veerappan’s mainstay too. Following in his footsteps, at least half a dozen of the STF personnel too tonsured themselves.Trimmed moustache disappoints manyDHARMAPURI: Surprise was in store for the curious onlookers to find the famous moustache missing on Veerappan’s face. ‘‘We were keen to see Veerappan as well as his moustache. But were disappointed to notice that the moustache was trimmed,’’ said one among the persons assembled in the Government Hospital to see Veerappan.More than 25,000 people thronged Dharmapuri on Tuesday to catch a glimpse of Veerappan’s body. As for relatives of the bandit’s associates, Chandra Gowda’s wife was spotted crying. ‘‘Had my husband been alive, he would have pumped you all with bullets,’’ she shouted at the mediapersons gathered there. Shocked daughter gets first glimpse CUDDALORE: It will be the first time she will see him. And the last too. Veerappan’s second daughter, 12-year-old V. Prabha, broke down on hearing the news of her father’s death. A large number of people had gathered near her school at Koothapakkam on Tuesday. A four-member team, led by advocate V. Purushotaman, reached the school at 4.30 pm for principal’s permission to let Prabha attend Veerappan’s last rites. Asked about her father’s criminal life, she said: ‘‘I am not aware of it.’’Justice delivered, says Nagappa’s wifeBANGALORE: Her agonising face on TV channels and newspapers two years ago, after her husband (former Karnataka minister H. Nagappa) was kidnapped by Veerappan, was a constant reminder of a family’s trauma and agony.Today, Parimala Nagappa, widow of former Karnataka minister H. Nagappa believes that God has finally delivered ‘‘justice’’. ‘‘Good that a cruel animal has gone. Had he been captured alive, many truths would have come out. But then, the STF said that wouldn’t have been possible as well. Anyway, secrets would not remain secrets for long.If they (STF) had done it before, many lives would have been saved. It’s good that they have done it now,’’ she said.Patil pats STF action against brigandNEW DELHI: Lauding the killing of the sandalwood smuggler, the Centre said a symbol of ‘‘unlawfulness’’ has been eliminated. ‘‘We appreciate the action taken. He (Veerappan) symbolised unlawfulness and with this (killing), the symbol has been eliminated,’’ said Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.
