Forest brigand Veerappan has set certain conditions for releasing Kannada thespian Rajkumar and three others held hostage by him. The issue would be discussed at a high-level meeting on Saturday. Krishna, who heard an audio-cassette sent by Veerappan spelling out his demands, declined to disclose the demands to reporters 'at present', but said he would discuss the issue at a high-level meeting Saturday evening. Krishna said the cassette was brought here from Chennai by senior IPS officer Srinivasan, who has been deputed by Karnataka to coordinate between the two governments. Parvathamma Rajkumar, wife of the celebrated actor, also heard the cassette along with Krishna. Krishna said he would leave for Chennai on Sunday to hold discussions with his counterpart in Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi in the light of the new development. He said the joint emissary of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu R R Gopal, editor of Tamil bi-weekly Nakkheeran, had not reached Chennai yet and was still in the forests. Earlier, in an audio cassette, Rajkumar had asked the government to fulfil the outlaw's demands and assured the people that he is safe.
Report : Zeenext Bureau