Veerappan was a sandalwood smuggler as well as a bandit who made Satyamangalam forests as his den. Veerappan activities spread across three states Kerala,Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and they used to be panicking with his activities of smuggling , pouching and murders. He was active over three decades in these forests and the state Governments could not catch him all this while and it is said that crores of Rupees were exchanged in releasing the Kannada Superstar late Rajkumar from his kidnap.