<p>Chennai: K Vijay Kumar, who was conferred with Padma Shri award on Sunday, is a decorated IPS officer, best known for leading Operation Cocoon in 2004 that resulted in the death of forest brigand Veerappan, whose name spelled terror in parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. </p><p>The 73-year-old Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS officer, who headed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for two years from 2010, had also served as advisor to the Union Home Ministry on countering Left-wing extremism areas, and to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor. </p><p>Besides Vijay Kumar, Chennai-born violinist N Rajam, IIT-Madras Director V Kamakoti, retired tennis player Vijay Amritraj, writer Sivasankari, and singers Gayatri Balasubramanian and Ranjani Balasubramanian are some of the prominent personalities from Tamil Nadu to be conferred with Padma awards. Rajam, who worked at the Banaras Hindu University, was among the five who were conferred with Padma Vibhushan awards. </p><p>Vijay Kumar had been involved in the operations to hunt Veerappan on various occasions and in different capacities. He first assisted the then Special Task Force (STF) chief Walter Issac Devaram and then was appointed to head the same force in 2003 after he was shunted out from Chennai as its police commissioner. </p><p>The seasoned IPS officer, while heading the STF, won the trust of the locals and played a key role in cutting Veerappan’s supply line of material and information. His plan to plant an informer in the inner circle of Veerappan and bring him out of the jungle paid rich dividends as the forest brigand landed in a well-laid trap.</p>.Karnataka's Anke Gowda, S G Susheelamma, Dr Suresh Hanagavadi among Padma Shri awardees: Sources.<p>Veerappan was confronted by the STF team in a terrain where the security personnel had an upper hand – the encounter ended in the death of Veerappan and his aides in Papparapatti in Dharmapuri district on October 18, 2004. </p><p>After informing the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa over the phone about the killing of Veerappan, Vijay Kumar drove to the Bannari Amman Temple in Erode district to shave off his head. </p><p>In 2010, when P Chidambaram was Union Home Minister, Vijay Kumar was appointed as the Director-General of CRPF and was involved in several operations to combat extremism. </p><p>Veerappan earned notoriety for poaching elephants, smuggling sandalwood, kidnapping high-profile people like Kannada Thespian Raj Kumar and former minister Nagappa, and killing policemen and others who came his way. The bandit ran an empire inside the forests along the Sathyamangalam forests spread across Erode and Mysore districts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, respectively. </p>
<p>Chennai: K Vijay Kumar, who was conferred with Padma Shri award on Sunday, is a decorated IPS officer, best known for leading Operation Cocoon in 2004 that resulted in the death of forest brigand Veerappan, whose name spelled terror in parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. </p><p>The 73-year-old Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS officer, who headed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for two years from 2010, had also served as advisor to the Union Home Ministry on countering Left-wing extremism areas, and to the Jammu and Kashmir Governor. </p><p>Besides Vijay Kumar, Chennai-born violinist N Rajam, IIT-Madras Director V Kamakoti, retired tennis player Vijay Amritraj, writer Sivasankari, and singers Gayatri Balasubramanian and Ranjani Balasubramanian are some of the prominent personalities from Tamil Nadu to be conferred with Padma awards. Rajam, who worked at the Banaras Hindu University, was among the five who were conferred with Padma Vibhushan awards. </p><p>Vijay Kumar had been involved in the operations to hunt Veerappan on various occasions and in different capacities. He first assisted the then Special Task Force (STF) chief Walter Issac Devaram and then was appointed to head the same force in 2003 after he was shunted out from Chennai as its police commissioner. </p><p>The seasoned IPS officer, while heading the STF, won the trust of the locals and played a key role in cutting Veerappan’s supply line of material and information. His plan to plant an informer in the inner circle of Veerappan and bring him out of the jungle paid rich dividends as the forest brigand landed in a well-laid trap.</p>.Karnataka's Anke Gowda, S G Susheelamma, Dr Suresh Hanagavadi among Padma Shri awardees: Sources.<p>Veerappan was confronted by the STF team in a terrain where the security personnel had an upper hand – the encounter ended in the death of Veerappan and his aides in Papparapatti in Dharmapuri district on October 18, 2004. </p><p>After informing the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa over the phone about the killing of Veerappan, Vijay Kumar drove to the Bannari Amman Temple in Erode district to shave off his head. </p><p>In 2010, when P Chidambaram was Union Home Minister, Vijay Kumar was appointed as the Director-General of CRPF and was involved in several operations to combat extremism. </p><p>Veerappan earned notoriety for poaching elephants, smuggling sandalwood, kidnapping high-profile people like Kannada Thespian Raj Kumar and former minister Nagappa, and killing policemen and others who came his way. The bandit ran an empire inside the forests along the Sathyamangalam forests spread across Erode and Mysore districts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, respectively. </p>