Police have shot dead India's most wanted bandit, Koose Muniswamy Veerappan, accused of killing more than 100 people, kidnapping, poaching and smuggling from his jungle hideout, officials said.
Mr. Veerappan, who operated in southern India and was believed to have ties with Tamil militants, made headlines around the world in 2000 when he held film star Rajkumar, who goes by one name, hostage for 108 days.
Three of his aides were also killed in a shootout yesterday, said Jayaram Jayalalithaa, the chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, in a statement.
"It is with a sense of pride and fulfilment that I wish to announce . . . the good news that the notorious forest brigand, bandit, murderer and dacoit Veerappan, along with his entire gang, has been shot dead by the special task force," said Mr. Jayalalithaa.
Mr. Veerappan, who was in his 50s, eluded troops and police in the vast jungles straddling the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for more than a decade.
Indian media reports said he chopped rivals into pieces before throwing them into rivers, shot policemen dead as they slept and once beheaded a senior forest official.
The shootout took place in a village in Tamil Nadu as Mr. Veerappan and his gang were travelling in a vehicle, Mr. Jayalalithaa said.
Mr. Veerappan refused a call to surrender and fired a weapon instead, leading to a shootout in which all four inside the vehicle were killed, Mr. Jayalalithaa said.
K. Senthamaraikannan, police superintendent of Tamil Nadu, said police had received a tip that Mr. Veerappan, who had a $515,000 bounty on his head, was hiding near the village of Paparapatti, 320 kilometres southwest of Madras, the state capital.
A police intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said an associate of Mr. Veerappan had surrendered about three hours before the shootout.
The bandit, who sported a long twirling moustache, wore military camouflage and had bloodshot eyes, was dubbed the Jungle Cat for his deep knowledge of the forest and his ability to imitate sounds of wild animals.
In December of 2002, a regional politician was found dead after three months as Mr. Veerappan's captive.
Mr. Veerappan was widely believed to enjoy the support of local politicians linked to wealth in the illegal quarrying of stones. He was accused of killing thousands of elephants for their tusks and of smuggling sandalwood and ivory worth millions of dollars.
Much of his armoury, which included automatic rifles, sophisticated binoculars and the fatigues he and his gang wore, were plundered from police units he attacked.
The gang also staged ambushes, made bombs and planted land mines that blew up buses carrying police.
A special force set up by the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states and the federal Border Security Force hunted for Mr. Veerappan for years.