Bangalore: Police arrested the wife of the infamous Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, one of the country's most notorious bandits, for plotting a bomb blast with her husband who was shot dead by the police four years ago.
Officials said on Wednesday Muthulakshmi Veerappan was arrested by the police in Karnataka, and would also be charged for her part in several criminal cases.
Muniswamy Veerappan, accused of killing more than 100 people and thousands of elephants in the jungles of southern India for ivory, had a price of 50 million rupees on his head but managed to evade arrest for nearly 20 years until he was killed by police in October 2004.
He had unleashed a reign of terror in southern India for more than two decades and was reputed to have run a mini army with hundreds of armed members in his gang.
A Special Task Force (STF) had been formed to nab him. Veerappan, the sandalwood smuggler and poacher who knew the forests well ensured that many STF officials died in a barbaric manner at his hands before his death in 2004.
His wife was suspected to be involved in several cases, but police said they required time to investigate her role.
"She had been evading arrest for a long time," K.V. Sridhar, a senior police officer said.
Three other associates of Veerappan were also taken into custody by the police.
Muthulakshmi has been charged with the murder of a forest officer, attack on a police station and a bomb blast on a police patrol that left at least 20 dead way back in 1992.
She unsuccessfully contested local elections two years ago in Tamil Nadu, hoping to capitalise on the Robin Hood-image of her husband, who was also popular among many villagers.
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