P. Srinivas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pandillapalli Srinivas (September 12, 1954 – November 10, 1991) was an
Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the premier forest service of India. .The IFS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) & the Indian Police Service (IPS). It was constituted in the year 1966 un ...
officer (Deputy Conservator of Forests,
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
), who was beheaded by
Veerappan Koose Munisamy Veerappan (18 January 1952 – 18 October 2004) was an Indian poacher, smuggler, domestic terrorist and Banditry, bandit who was active for 36 years, and kidnapped major politicians for ransom. He was charged with sandalwoo ...
with whom he had gone to visit, with the hope of getting him to surrender. He was awarded a
Kirti Chakra The Kirti Chakra () is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the ...
(second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards), for his sacrifice. At the time of his death he served as Assistant Commander of Special Task Force(STF) established to capture Veerappan. Srinivas was a highly successful visionary who helped the villagers of Karnataka, by paving roads and connecting settlements. He provided drinking water channels to tribal regions, and initiated a mobile dispensary unit to assist the poor with medical services. He constructed more than 40 homes for the homeless with his own salary, started
afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no recent tree cover. There are three types of afforestation: natural Regeneration (biology), regeneration, agroforestry and Tree plantation, tree plan ...
drives, and spread awareness about wildlife and the environment among the villagers. He also rehabilitated and reformed around 120 rebels. He was murdered in November 1991 by Koose Munisami Veerappan. In 1992, the
President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...
conferred the
Kirti Chakra The Kirti Chakra () is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the ...
to the slain officer's mother as a testament to her son's bravery, noble deeds and commitment in serving the nation. Today, Srinivas is remembered as an honest, dedicated and highly competent Indian civil servant who uplifted the lives of the poor, and he is revered as a deity in several villages in Karnataka.


Early life

Pandillapalli Srinivas was born in
Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...
, East Godavari district of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, on 12 September 1954; the first son of Ananta Rao and Jayalaxmi, Srinivas spent most of his childhood in his grandmother's village of Kamarajupeta in Rajahmundry. He completed his primary education in Nagaraju Junior Basis School and Higher Secondary from Lantern High School Rajahmundry. He graduated from Government Arts College in Rajamundry and in 1976 completed his master's in life sciences from Andhra University and secured a gold medal.


Service

In 1979, he qualified for the
Indian Forest Service The Indian Forest Service (IFS) is the premier forest service of India. .The IFS is one of the three All India Services along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) & the Indian Police Service (IPS). It was constituted in the year 1966 un ...
and was assigned to Karnataka Cadre. His first posting (in 1982) was as Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) in
Chamarajanagar Chamarajanagara is a city and headquarter of eponymous Chamarajanagar district in the Karnataka state of India. It is named after Chamaraja Wodeyar IX, the erstwhile Raja of Mysore, Chamarajanagara was previously known as 'Arikottara'. Hist ...
of Mysore district, which was already affected by the activity of
Veerappan Koose Munisamy Veerappan (18 January 1952 – 18 October 2004) was an Indian poacher, smuggler, domestic terrorist and Banditry, bandit who was active for 36 years, and kidnapped major politicians for ransom. He was charged with sandalwoo ...
, who was then a small-time poacher. Srinivas was elevated to the post of Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Chamarajanagar in 1983 and stayed there till 1987. As ACF, he compiled a directory of all sandalwood smugglers and poachers operating in the area and procured and circulated their photographs. He established and coordinated networks between the police and foresters, drew up strategies to curb the activities of smugglers and poachers and successfully isolated and cornered a large number of them. When the Centre banned the sale of ivory and ivory products, and made the possession of ivory articles, beyond a limit a recognisable offence, the bandit Veerappan switched to
sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
smuggling.


Encounter with Veerappan

Srinivas was the first and only person to arrest Veerappan in 1986 while the
SAARC The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, ...
Summit was in progress at
Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
. Veerappan was brought to Budipadaga Forest Rest House in Chamarajanagar Division for interrogation. Based on the information gathered, Srinivas conducted numerous raids on the gang's hideouts in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. When Srinivas was out on one of these raids, Veerappan escaped from custody. An enquiry was ordered into this escape and some police officials were indicted. Although Srinivas was not at fault, he felt responsible and this probably explains the tenacity with which Srinivas pursued Veerappan when he could have taken up softer postings elsewhere. In 1987, Srinivas was transferred as DCF at Chikkamagaluru and within few months of his transfer, Veerappan murdered Mr Chidabaram, Range Forest Officer, Satyamangalam Range. Srinivas assisted the local administration in investigating the case. He developed a network of informers against Veerappan in his native village
Gopinatham Gopinatham is a rural village located in Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka, India, in the border area of Tamil Nadu. It is the birthplace of Veerappan. The village is from the district centre at Chamarajanagar among thick scrub forest and moun ...
. Veerappan, however killed the informants and displayed their heads as an example in the village. He also doled out part of his ill-gotten wealth amongst the villagers. His excellent knowledge of the terrain coupled with the silence of the villagers, enabled him to extend his activities.


Philanthropy

At Gopinatham, Veerappan's village, Srinivas built a temple for the Goddess
Mariamman Mariamman, often abbreviated to Amman (), is a Hindu Dravidian folk religion List of rain deities, goddess of weather, predominantly venerated in the rural areas of South India. Her festivals are held during the late summer/early autumn season ...
, at the cost of ₹ 3 lakhs raised through contributions. A fixed deposit scheme was launched to pay the salaries of the temple workers as well as meet the maintenance costs of the temple. He provided drinking water to remote tribal villages in his jurisdiction; developed roads to inaccessible villages and obtained motor transport connections between these villages and nearby towns. He started a mobile dispensary for the people and even learnt basic medicine to assist in the dispensary. At Chikkamagaluru he planned and built a modern forest complex spread over 50 acres, comprising offices, official residences, a temple and private houses for foresters under a self-financing scheme. He took up an ambitious tribal housing programme where he built 40 houses for the homeless people of Gopinatham village. He used his own salary and borrowed from friends and relatives to finance many of these humanitarian activities. He was an outstanding forest officer committed to his job and the people he served. He raised the forest nurseries successfully in the deep forests by impounding available hill top water. He conducted
afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no recent tree cover. There are three types of afforestation: natural Regeneration (biology), regeneration, agroforestry and Tree plantation, tree plan ...
drives, improved communication networks and set up high altitude watch towers. He understood that forest development and tribal development are intrinsically related.


Rehabilitation of criminals

Srinivas organised cooperatives to sell the minor forest produce collected by the villagers. He provided livelihood to the villagers by employing them in forest nurseries and other developmental works to discourage them from destroying forest wealth and wildlife. Eligible people were identified and appointed as watchers and guards in the forest department. Veerappan's gang members were also encouraged to use these employment opportunities. As a result of Srinivas efforts, the public support base on which Veerappan thrived was eroded. Srinivas offered the gang members a rehabilitation package including legal justice if they would lay down their arms and cross over. A major breakthrough was achieved in 1990 when many of the hardcore gang members surrendered before Srinivas. Veerappan's gang dwindled from over 40 to 8-10 members. Among those surrendered was Arjuna, the younger brother of Veerappan. When they were jailed, Srinivas personally engaged advocates on their behalf and got them released on bail.


Last encounter with Veerapan

In July 1991, Srinivas's tenure with the STF expired. He stopped getting his salary and the security provided to him was weakened but he stayed on as he felt that Veerappan's surrender was imminent. On 9 November 1991 he received a wireless message at MM Hills that Veerappan was ready to surrender if Srinivas met him unaccompanied and unarmed. Without hesitation Srinivas set out alone the same night. He met Arjuna who had been missing for over a month, at Ponnuswamy Palli (Veerappan's uncle) house, stayed the night and left for the encounter in the morning. The last message received from him said, "We are hoping for the best. God will help us" Instead on 10 November 1991, 37-year-old Srinivas was shot from behind while crossing a creek 6 km from Gopinatham village. Soon after that, Veerappan beheaded Srinivas, took his head with him and burnt the body.


Legacy

Srinivas is worshipped by the residents of Veerappan's native village Gopinatham for his heroism


Award of Kirti Chakra

The State Government announced a reward of ₹ 10
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
(10,00,000
rupees Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Afr ...
) and recommended him for the Presidential Gallantry Award. He was given a State funeral with gun salute and police honours. On 26 January 1992, Srinivas was posthumously awarded the second highest peace time gallantry award the
Kirti Chakra The Kirti Chakra () is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards. It is the ...
, received by his mother from the President of India at the Defence Investiture Ceremony held at
Rashtrapathi Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisi ...
. For Srinivas, the most fitting tribute came from the fact that grief over his death was most palpable at Gopinatham village where he was seen not a mere government functionary but as a social reformer.


Popular culture

*In 2016,
Killing Veerappan ''Killing Veerappan'' is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language biographical Crime film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, who co-wrote the film with K. Balaji. The film is based on the events leading to Operation Cocoon to capture or kill Indian bandit Veer ...
was scheduled to be released on 27 May 2016 File:P Srinivas Revered Pallar RFO HQ.jpg, P.Srinivas Photo in Palar Range Forest Officer HQ File:P Srinivas Portrait Painting.jpg, Painted portrait at a library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Memorial Jeep.jpg, Jeep used by P. Srinivas, IFS put on display as a Memorial to the braveheart's sacrifice on line of duty. File:P Srinivas Library Display 11.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 8.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 9.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 10.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 6.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 5.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 7.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 4.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 2.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 3.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. File:P Srinivas Library Display 1.jpg, Display in Library dedicated to P.Srinivas at the Office of DCF, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Srinivas, P 1954 births 1991 deaths Indian foresters 1991 murders in India People from Rajahmundry People murdered in Karnataka Andhra University alumni Recipients of the Kirti Chakra