Forest brigand Veerappan on Thursday released one of the hostages, Nagappa, from his custody. Reports reaching Bangalore said that Nagappa was released near Gajanur. He will be brought to Bangalore on Friday and admitted at Mallya hospital. Nagappa has already reached Gajanur in Chamarajanagar district, from where Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar and three other hostages were kidnapped by the bandit on July 30. The Rajkumar Fans’ Association on Thursday observed a bandh to put pressure on the government to secure the release of Rajkumar and other hostages. Veerappan has demanded the release of 121 of his associates from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu jails and five other Tamil rebels. But a petition from Abdul Karim, father of a police officer slain by the brigand, has put paid to the efforts of the two governments.