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Legalities stop Mani from being emissary

The bail application of Tamil activist Kolathur Mani, chosen by Veerappan to be the emissary to negotiate with him the release of former Karnataka minister H Nagappa, was postponed to next week by the Madras high court on Thursday.

Mani, lodged in the Bellary Central Jail in Karnataka on charges of assisting Veerappan to acquire arms and ammunition, is also seeking bail in five other cases in Tamil Nadu.

According to Mani's counsel T Prakash, he will only be able to come out of prison if he gets bail in all five cases. Even then it will take a month's time.

Realising this, Nagappa's family too has asked the government to consider Ponnachi Mahadevaswamy as the official emissary to meet Veerappan. The brigand, in his third cassette, had asked for Mahadevaswamy to be sent as Mani's assistant.

Nagappa's son, Dr Preethan, urged the government to send Mahadevaswamy immediately, since the brigand has given it only a week to send the emissaries. "It would be safe for the government to announce Mahadevaswamy as the official emissary and also explain why Mani is not coming to the forest now," he said. "This should be done immediately as my father's life is in danger."

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force continued its search operations in the forest area near the Karnataka border. With support from its counterpart in Karnataka, the STF is combing the M M Hills and its surrounding forests.

These operations have angered members of Nagappa's family and his party, the Janata Dal, United. They have questioned the motive for these operations, which come in the wake of the government announcing the withdrawal of all operations against the brigand.

H Nagappa Abduction: Complete coverage
The Abduction of Dr Rajakumar
The Hunt for Veerappan

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