Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa congratulated Special Task Force (STF) chief K Vijaykumar and his team for their 'sterling achievement' in killing forest brigand Veerappan and three of his associates in an encounter at Dharmapuri district.

"I congratulate each man and officer for this sterling achievement of scaling the very heights of a risky mission, in ridding our society of the murderous menace that has defied us all these years, spreading pillage, destruction and death and destroying life and the ecosphere," she said in a four-page statement late tonight.

"My unwavering stand, patience and perseverance, in the relentless pursuit of the dreaded bandit, has now been completely vindicated," she said.