In a significant victory for wildlife enforcement, notorious poacher Govinda, infamously known as ‘Mini Veerappan’, was finally arrested by Karnataka Forest Department officials at the Mysuru railway station. The arrest marks a crucial breakthrough in the high-profile and brutal tiger killing case that occurred in October 2025 inside the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Brutal Crime and Initial Arrests
The case that led to this prolonged manhunt came to light in October 2025 near Pachedoddi village in Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district. A tiger was found killed in a retaliatory attack after it had allegedly preyed on cattle. Investigators revealed that the big cat was poisoned using carbofuran, a banned and highly toxic pesticide.
In a gruesome attempt to destroy evidence, the carcass was chopped into three pieces and dumped at separate locations deep within the forest. The crime triggered widespread outrage among conservationists and officials, who viewed it as a direct attack on conservation efforts, not just an isolated incident.
Prior to Govinda's capture, five other accused—Pachamalle, Siddu, Sampu, Chandu, and Abhishek—were arrested. They were later granted bail by the Kollegal JMFC court. However, Govinda, identified as the key coordinator of the poaching operation, remained elusive for over five years, intensifying the search for him.
A Master of Evasion: The Hunt for Mini Veerappan
Forest officials stated that Govinda earned the ‘Mini Veerappan’ moniker due to his repeated involvement in wildlife crimes and links to organized forest crime networks in the region. His arrest in 2022 for a deer poaching case did little to stop his activities, as he soon went back on the run.
The investigation was described as one of the most challenging in recent years, hampered by Govinda's knowledge of the terrain and cunning evasion tactics. He frequently moved between forest regions in Chamarajanagar and Mysuru districts and often switched off his mobile phones to avoid tracking.
Authorities confirmed that Govinda attempted to evade capture three times specifically in connection with the tiger poaching case. One of the most dramatic incidents occurred on October 25 last year near the Tamil Nadu border. Anticipating a police ambush, Govinda orchestrated a diversion by sending two individuals on a bike at high speed towards the official team, causing a collision with a forest department vehicle.
“In the confusion, we initially thought one of them was him due to a resemblance. But after they were hospitalized, we confirmed Govinda was not among them. He then escaped,” recounted an officer. Following this, he traveled across Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, occasionally using others' phones to communicate.
The Final Capture and Ongoing Probe
The breakthrough came when forest teams, acting on fresh intelligence, tracked Govinda's movements to the Mysuru railway station, where he was intercepted while traveling by train. He was also a rowdy sheeter in Bengaluru with multiple cases registered against him, and police were monitoring court dates in an attempt to locate him.
Govinda will be produced before the court, and further investigations are underway. Officials aim to establish his role in other wildlife crimes and identify additional members of his poaching network. His arrest brings a measure of closure to a case that raised serious concerns about wildlife safety in the ecologically sensitive MM Hills forest zone.
