Kanteerava stadium turns into a war zone

Kanteerava stadium turns into a war zone
Deccan Herald

Kanteerava Stadium turned into a virtual war zone on Thursday. The venue where Rajkumar’s body was kept for the public to pay their last respects....

Kanteerava Stadium turned into a virtual war zone on Thursday. The venue where Rajkumar’s body was kept for the public to pay their last respects, witnessed an unruly crowd engaging in a pitched battle with the police. Stones flew thick and fast, lathis charged and in the melee several hundred die-hard fans of Rajkumar had to face the wrath of the police. Eventually, thousands missed an opportunity to pay their homage to their favourite actor.

It was also a scene of utter chaos outside the stadium, as the crowd went berserk. The crowd burnt two buses, two vans and a car. Pallavi theatre was also attacked and Geo Hotel at Hudson Circle was set afire. Police constable Manjunath, who was injured in the melee, later succumbed to injuries.

Running battle

Police had a tough time controlling the surging, emotionally-charged crowd which was swelling in numbers with each passing hour. Police repeatedly resorted to lathicharge and burst teargas shells in and around the stadium to quell the mobs. Lack of sufficient number of barricades was one reason for the crowd to go berserk at the stadium. Many tried to jump the queue only to be caned by police.

Barricades had been installed at the entry point but not the exit, giving ample scope for people to rejoin the queue. The entire stadium resembled a sea of humanity with a non-stop battle being fought in the middle.

Hundreds lost their chappals and belongings in the melee but the crowd didn’t mind being thrashed by the police to get another last glimpse of their departed idol.

Rajkumar’s body was kept in a glass casket and his sons Shivaraj, Raghavendra and Puneet, along with close relatives and family friends stood near the body.

While some showered flowers and petals on the casket, some had brought gifts with them. Many fans wept uncontrollably as they had a glimpse of the body and clenched the fence refusing to move.

There were young and the old, strong and the frail. A large number of women were also at the venue.

Then there were also those who had travelled all night from far off places, clinging on to their luggage, only to have a final glimpse of “Annavru”.