Veerappan, the sandalwood smuggler, was killed in Operation Cocoon.

On 18th October 2004, Veerappan was killed near Pavara Patti in Dharmapuri district during a police operation by Tamil Nadu’s special police.

The operation was led by K. Vijay Kumar, who was the head of the Special Task Force (STF) at the time.

Veerappan was a notorious Indian bandit, sandalwood smuggler, and poacher who operated in the forests of Karnataka, kerala and Tamil Nadu for decades.
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