Brigand's bounty lies buried in the woods

BANGALORE: Where did Veerappan hide the moolah? His riches are perhaps lying buried somewhere in the jungles of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
That''s the buzz around the area. Veerappan didn''t need banks to stash away his wealth nor warehouses to store his food. It is believed he had underground storehouses where he stocked up foodgrain and money in bundles of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
These pits were dug deep in the forest at places where he frequented, mostly on the west of the river Cauvery.
Veerappan was, indeed, a smart operator. He used polythene bags to hide his loot from moth and moisture in pits that were well filled up and camouflaged to near-perfection.
Police say the technique is not unique to Veerappan; several tribes located in the jungles use pits to store food and grain to help them during the trying winter months when food is scarce. Veerappan''s storehouse pits, it is believed, were marked with a secret code and the secret was only shared by his loyalist-associates.
But what then is unique is Veerappan''s fabled wealth making him one of the richest dacoits in recent times.
It is this massive bounty that the police feel could now be the target of fortune hunters in the deep jungles. A gold rush of sorts.