Bangalore: Forest brigand Veerappan has demanded sending Tamil activist Kolathur Mani as emissary within eight days to negotiate the release of JD (U) leader H Nagappa who is in his captivity for the last 44 days.

Speaking reporters after hearing the third cassette sent by Veerappan along with senior police officials, Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said the next move would be decided after consulting Chief Minister S M Krishna who is now on a padayatra on Cauvery issue.

Asked if the bandit had set any timeframe, he said the outlaw has asked for Mani to be sent as the mediator within eight days.

The cassette, which was found in the lawns of Nagappa's farmhouse at Kamagere in Chamarajanagar district on October 6 evening was handed over to Kharge by Nagappa's son Preetam.

Breaking his long silence, Veerappan has sent the third cassette, amid behind-the- scene efforts for securing Nagappa's safe release.

In the second cassette, Veerappan had demanded that either Mani or Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P Nedumaran be sent as emissaries, which was promptly rejected by the Karnataka government saying it could not send anyone in jail.

Mani is in Bellary jail in Karnataka and Nedumaran in a Tamil Nadu prison. Both had played an important role in securing the release of Kannada thespian Rajkumar from the clutches of Veerappan after a 108-day kidnap saga.

Karnataka government has scaled down the operations of the Special Task Force, asking it to confine to combing operations, after Nagappa's family, Janata Dal (U) and some seers of the Veerashaiva community, to which Nagappa belongs, put pressure on the government to do so in the interest of Nagappa's safety.

PTI