Mysore: Forest brigand Veerappan on October 6 sent the third audiocassette to the family of JD (U) leader H Nagappa, as the kidnap crisis entered the 43rd day, amid behind-the-scene efforts to secure the release of the former minister.

The cassette, the contents of which were not known, was picked up by Nagappa's driver on the lawns of his farmhouse at Kamagere in Chamrajanagar district late on October 6 and taken to Bangalore by his son Preetam to be handed over to Chief Minister S M Krishna, Nagappa's family sources said.

According to sources, the cassette was wrapped in a paper with a scribbling in Tamil and Kannada that it should not be given to Police, but be handed over to the Chief Minister or Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.

This development comes after weeks of silence by the bandit after he sent the second cassette, in which he had demanded that Tamil activist Kollathur Mani or Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P Nedumaran be sent as emissaries to negotiate with him.

The Karnataka government had agreed to send an emissary, but ruled out the names of Mani and Nedumaran, who are in jail, leading to a deadlock, with no word from Veerappan for long.

Behind-the-scene efforts were, however, underway to secure the safe release of Nagappa, according to JD (U) sources, who did not disclose details of the backdoor mission.

Nagappa's family has dismissed reports that a deal had been struck to pay ransom to the bandit in exchange for his release.

PTI