BENGALURU: Forest brigand Veerappan’s aide Simon Anthoniyappa died at the prison ward of Victoria hospital on Sunday morning. The 55-year-old Simon was a death row convict and was suffering from multiple ailments and was undergoing treatment at the hospital over the last few days.
Simon was awarded death sentence by the Supreme Court in January 2004 for his role in carrying out a bomb blast in Palar forest area in Tamil Nadu in 1993 at the behest of Veerappan, killing 22 police personnel belonging to the Special Task Force (STF).
In 2013, the then President of India Pranab Mukherjee had rejected the mercy petition filed by Simon seeking exemption from capital punishment. The prison officials have informed his family members to conduct a post-mortem and other legal procedures.
