Bangalore: Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna today (Feb 10, 2004) said forest brigand Veerappan has been "cornered and holed up" and the pursuit of the special task forces (STFs) of the State and Tamil Nadu had put him "on the back foot".

Launching the operational phase of the Karnataka telemedicine project at the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Krishna said, "The STF's of both States are cooperating and jointly hunting which had put Veerappan on the back foot and we are on the front foot."

"He (Veerappan) has been cornered, he has been holed up," he said, explaining that the first experimental telemedicine project in Karnataka was launched nearly two years ago at Chamarajanagar district, which has earned a "dubious reputation" of being associated with Veerappan.

"We hope one of these days, we will get a message that can make us feel very relieved," said Krishna, who later said, "There was no deadline set for the mission."

He said despite differences with Tamil Nadu on various issues, the two neighbours were pursuing their goal of capturing Veerappan.