Tamil Nadu police officer who was part of the team that killed Veerappan was suspended a day before his retirement

S. Velladurai was part of the team that killed Veerapan in 2004. (Representative)

Chennai:

A deputy superintendent of Tamil Nadu police, who was part of the special team that shot dead forest bandit Veerappan, has been suspended a day before his retirement.

S. Velladurai, deputy superintendent of police at the Crime Records Bureau in Tiruvannamalai, was suspended by the Tamil Nadu Home Department on Thursday.

According to sources, the officer was suspended for his alleged involvement in custodial torture that led to the death of ‘Kokki’ Kumar alias Ramu in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu in 2013.

‘Kokki’ Kumar was accused of murdering Police Inspector T. Alwin Sudhan during Maruthupandiar Jayanthi on October 27, 2012. Police arrested 13 people in the case, including ‘Kokki’ Kumar.

The CB-CID, which investigated the case, had submitted a report to the relevant court recommending that no further action be taken.

Velladurai rose to fame when he shot dead historian Ayothikuppam Veeramani as a sub-inspector in Chennai in 2003. He was also part of the special team that shot dead forest bandit Veerappan in 2004.

The Tamil Nadu government had also appointed Velladurai as the special officer in the special cell of the state police to monitor and control violent elements and anti-social elements attacking industrial units and entrepreneurs in Kanchipuram district in 2021, when the DMK government came to office.

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