Mobs hold city to ransom

Mobs hold city to ransom
The Times of India

Bangalore: Distraught mourners virtually took control of the city on Thursday, indulging in arson and fighting pitched battles with an outnumbered police force. The violence left five dead and over 200 persons, including 100 policemen, injured.

According to police commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh, among the dead four are civilians and one is a policeman. Of four civilians, three died in firing near Kanteerava Studio where Rajkumar was laid to rest. Among the injured civilians, condition of eight is critical.

The situation went out of control in the morning as crowds gave vent to their fury along the procession route — from Kanteerava Indoor Stadium to Kanteerava Studio. They burnt hotels, petrol bunks, buses, civilian vehicles, police jeeps and cars; pelted stones at policemen, stations, hospitals, glass facade buildings and media OB vans. Over 100 vehicles, including 20 of the police, were burnt.

People climbed atop police vehicles as a convoy of vehicles made its way to the burial site. The surging crowds were so uncontrollable that chief minister H D Kumaraswamy had to return without attending the burial. He was stopped near Mahalakshmi Layout Anjaneya Temple by the police and advised not to proceed to the studio.

Deputy CM B S Yediyurappa’s car was attacked near the studio when he went there to pay homage. The crowds did not spare the police too: they attacked the office of Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) and a police station near Yeshwantpur Circle. A DCP’s car was torched at the Circle. Several people, including policemen, sustained injuries in the melee.

Earlier, the crowds went berserk near the Kanteerava Stadium where Rajkumar’s body was kept for public homage.

The police lobbed teargas shells and fired rubber bullets. The police ran out of teargas shells on a couple of occasions. Over 3,000 shells were fired, a senior police officer said.

A group of anti-social elements attacked a police van and set fire to it near Siddalingaiah Circle near the stadium and assaulted the policemen. When a mob almost killed a Karnataka State Reserve Police constable near the Circle, police lobbed teargas when a civilain Muniraju (43) died. The constable, identified as Manjunath Malladi (28), died in hospital.

No bandh today
Bangalore: Condemning the acts of vandalism on Thursday, Akhila Karnataka Rajkumar Abhimanigala Sangha president Sa Ra Govindu put the blame entirely on anti-social elements.

Govindu told The Times of India: “Such incidents should not have happened. This is not the way to send Rajkumar on his last journey. I am very unhappy that some antisocial elements have done such things to mar our name.’’ Govindu also said there was no bandh call for Friday. “We did give such a call on Thursday, but there will be no bandh on Friday,’’ he said.