Hanur: Ramapura Police, on Sunday, have finally arrested the aide of forest brigand Veerappan after 25 years.

The arrested person, identified as 52-year-old Shivaswamy alias Dumble Gundi of Veppede village in Sathyamangalam coming under Erode district in Tamil Nadu, had gone absconding 25 years ago and was arrested from D.G. Puduru village in Sathyamangalam, where he was staying with his wife and children.

Shivaswamy was part of the gang of Veerappan which attacked Ramapura Police Station on May 19, 1992, during which five Police personnel were killed and the gang had looted firearms from the Police Station. Shivaswamy was also wanted in the kidnap of industrialist Ramamurthy, son of Sampangiramaiah, a mining baron of Hanur and is the prime accused in the case.

He (Shivaswamy) was also involved in Palar bomb blast in 1993, which was executed by Veerappan, targeting STF Chief K. Gopalakrishnan and his team.

According to Police, Shivaswamy was involved in various crimes with Veerappan about two-and-a-half decades ago and was at large since then. After Veerappan was killed by the Police in 2004, the Police had arrested most of Veerappan’s accomplices, but Shivaswamy had gone absconding. Shivaswamy was produced before a Court yesterday, which remanded him to judicial custody.