Violence Rocks Bangalore - Fan Frenzy at Dr.Raj Funeral

[bingleguy]

The Legend of Karnataka Dr. Raj Kumar was laid to rest at Kanteerava stadium premises on Thursday amid utter chaos, mob frenzy and pitched battles between matinee idol's fans and police

The whole of Bangalore was observing a peaceful bandh in honour but the inability of police to control the mobs marred the situation

The sons of Dr.Raj Kumar had considerable difficulty in performing the last rites for their beloved father !

A KSRP constable, Manjunath Malladi(24) was killed at Siddalingaiah circle near Kanteerava stadium when a mob crushed his head with a boulder. Several hundred vehicles including 126 of BMTC and 56 of KSRTC were vandalised by mobs

>> Shortage of police led to Violence
>>Cable TV shutdown

Courtesy : Vijay Times !

[bingleguy]

Hotel ransacked, set on fire in Bangalore
http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/14/stories/2006041408651000.htm

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City shuts down for thespian's funeral
http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/14/stories/2006041424070300.htm

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[tscii:27daece41e]A victim of mindless violence

Staff Reporter - The HINDU

BANGALORE: Lynched by a mob at Siddalingaiya Circle, constable Manjunath Malladi lay there on the road, dead and deserted. Manjunath, who had passed the B.Com examination with distinction, had dreamt to make it big in the police force. But his dreams were extinguished in the mindless violence that engulfed the city.

Wounded and in pain, Manjunath's fellow recruits from the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) sat in gloom at the Bowring Hospital late on Thursday night. Surrounded by an angry and violent mob, they had managed to escape from the KSRP van.

But 25-year-old Manjunath was not so lucky. He was trapped, surrounded and bludgeoned to death.

Narrating the mind-numbing incident to The Hindu , Manjunath's colleague Mahantesh relived the drama. The constables, 25 to 30 of them, had just reached Siddalingaiya Circle when they saw the mob approaching them menacingly. There was no time. They had to escape or be trapped.

Many jumped out of the vehicle through the driver's door. But the mob was too close. Three constables — Mahantesh, Anand and Manjunath — were trapped. Anand took his chance and jumped out, pretended to be unconscious and escaped the crowd's wrath. By this time, the mob had torched the bus, forcing Mahantesh to jump out. He suffered head injuries but managed to flee. That left Manjunath alone.

Mahantesh recalled that the mob surrounded Manjunath, forcibly removed his helmet and rained stones on his head.

Bleeding, the constable died soon after.

A few days, and he would have passed out from the Police Training College, Channapatna, adding to his already impressive qualification that included an LLB degree. But the mob had something else in store for the eldest son of an agriculturist.

Director-General of Police B.S. Sial, City Police Commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh and Additional Director-General of Police, KSRP, A.R. Infant visited the Bowring Hospital mortuary where Manjunath's body was kept and paid their last respects.[/tscii:27daece41e]

[Lambretta]

A KSRP constable, Manjunath Malladi(24) was killed at Siddalingaiah circle near Kanteerava stadium when a mob crushed his head with a boulder.
:shock: Horrible!
Oru alu ponathuku innoru aale kollartha! :evil:

Wat is ther to get so violent abt wen a celebrity dies? They r human too.....!

Btw, I believe the same situation occured in Madras wen MGR had died?

[bingleguy]

I recollect Chevalier Sivaji 's procession, which was so peaceful n neat ! THere was no much commotion

Guess it happ for Anna too

Well here the fans were not allowed to view his body... thats the reason for fans getting agitated. No arrangements were made proper ... they also changed plans every now n then .... also there was less no of policemen in the capital as they have been deputed for election duties ...

it was horrible watching the beating of policemen ... i literally cried :cry: on seeing such violent things happ on the TV ... the cable TV was also shutdown... only kannada channels .. forcing everybody to watch only these instances ... guess some mob attacked the NDTV too .. CNN-IBN were also showing the incident again n again ... it was pathetic... blore was literally burning ... i didnt expect such kind of behaviour in the garden city

[swathy]

I watched the funeral in Udaya TV / ETV/ CNN/NDTV. horrible.

[bingleguy]

City comes to a standtill

Chitra V. Ramani for THE HINDU

Security could have been strengthened, says a resident `Even when he was abducted by forest brigand Veerappan, Dr. Rajkumar had urged his fans to keep their cool and not disrupt peace in the State'

# Views Stopping telecast of channels is taking it a bit too far
# The police could have anticipated the reaction of the fans

Bangalore: "I cannot believe he is really dead. I just met him a few weeks ago. This is indeed shocking news," said G.P. Lakshmidevi, a former radio artiste.

This was the general mood across the city. Shops and malls had downed their shutters since Wednesday afternoon. There were very few vehicles on the roads and only a few were seen walking along the almost deserted streets on Thursday when the city more or less came to a grinding halt.

Many television channels, other than Kannada and news channels, were not being telecast. "I do not understand why the cable operators had to stop the telecast of channels in other languages. I can understand that they want to pay homage to the departed soul, but stopping telecast of channels is taking it a bit too far," a resident of Malleswaram said.

Prahlad Rao, a retired bank official, said the police could have anticipated how Dr. Rajkumar's fans would react. "They should have made elaborate arrangements as soon as the news spread. They could have anticipated the mob mentality and strengthened security around the actor's house and at the stadium, where the mortal remains were kept for the public to pay their respects," he said.

The Tamil Nadu Police had managed the crowds in a much more organised manner when actor Sivaji Ganesan passed away, he said. "The State police could learn a lesson or two from them. The police should be held responsible for all the untoward incidents," he added. Sundar Raman, a resident of Palace Guttahalli, said he had not stopped watching television since he got the news. "I have been switching channels since Wednesday afternoon. I feel that English channels are keen on showing that the people down south are goons. They are replaying the same clip over and over again," he said.

Raghuram, a software professional, said: "It is sad that an actor of his stature gets such a treatment after death. He had great respect for his fans. Even when he was abducted by forest brigand Veerappan, Dr. Rajkumar had urged his fans to keep their cool and not disrupt peace in the State," he said.

P. Srinivas of Seshadripuram said: "Dr. Rajkumar was a true Kannadiga. Though he supported the Gokak Movement, he was not swayed by the politics behind the struggle," he said.

"I did not expect this kind of mob reaction from a cosmopolitan city such as Bangalore," said Lakshmi, who recently moved to the city.

[ksen]

Bangalore has a tendency to react like this. Antisocial elements are on the wait for any opportunity. What has language got to do with Rajkumar's death? Shutting down all other language channels is meaningless. When the police are fully aware of what usually happens, they should have made all arrangements and then released the news of the death. Shifting the body from place to place,- isn't it insulting to the memory of the departed soul? It only shows indecision of the police top brass, especially when the CM is just getting used to the chair! Letting the pro-Kannadiga goons grow is a grave mistake that Karnataka is doing.

[jaiganes]

Here are some images I had captured earlier on Wednesday in my blog (http://silencerocks.blogspot.com). It is very sad that this happened in Bangalore, a city which almost anybody in this country can really call their home. :cry: The mob reaction is unjustified and condemnable in the harshest of terms. We south indians might not be swayed by communal passions, however this incident is one more evidence to the fact that we are fixated seveely on stars and icons in a perverted way that gets this kind of violent expression.

[Shakthiprabha.]

Shame.
Painful Shame.

[Shekhar]

What happened is horrible beyond words.
I feel the whole thing was planned to gain political mileage.
Or else, the anti social elements ruthlessly took advantage of the situation to settle scores and for gains.
I think, Rajkumar fanship had nothing to do with this.

[Chappani]

Its really painful and sad to see the things that happened last week. Nothing like this would have happened in a civilised world. As per Girish Karnad, noted film personality this is due to the deep heart desperation the people of Karnataka have as the Brand Bangalore and its benifits have not perculated down to them and the death of RajKumar has nothing to do with these incidents. Imagine young guys in their mid teens roaming around streets indulging in acts of violence, these guys wouldn't know ABC of RajKumar, I suspect if they have really seen the blockbusters of Rajkumar like 'Bhangarada Manushya', 'Saakshatkaara' to name a few??

Targeting Public and Private property has been the norm in Bangalore be it Anti Urdu agitation some time back, the Cauvery riots, now the Post Rajkumar death. There was literally nothing available for common people, Hotels, all shops including Medical shops were closed(most of them against the wishes of the people, in some places the shutters were half closed with the shop-owner ready to close it fully incase of any violence), and the people involved in agitation had literally no idea of the impact their meaningless action had on the public.

If Rajkumar had Died in Captivity of Veerappan then these actions could have had a reason to be Justified, now there are no justifications. The state government was under a fix to speed up things with the Karaga and then the Good friday the Solar new year's day and Visu following very closely, they are not to be blamed either.

These events show the degredation of Society and its values. its time for the goverment and the general public to induce good values into the young generation, to prevent such National shame from happening in future.