Mysore lawyer says he will negotiate with Veerappan

Following Nakkeeran editor R Gopal's refusal to negotiate the hostage crisis with forest brigand Veerappan again, a Mysore lawyer, Venugopal, has offered his services to Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel for the task.

Venugopal's confidence to accomplish the twin assignments -- not only will he secure the release of the hostages, but he will also get the brigand to surrender, he claimed -- arises from the fact that he had represented Veerappan's younger brother Arjunan and his two associates Ayyan Durai and Rangaswamy earlier. (The trio committed suicide in judicial custody.)

However, Patel has politely turned down the lawyer. Sources said he told Venugopal that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi was confident about Veerappan's surrender and, therefore, there was no cause for worry. The basis of Karunanidhi's confidence could not be ascertained immediately.

Venugopal, for his part, said he proposed to lead a team of journalists to the brigand's hideout for the ambitious mission if the state governments' efforts failed.