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.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail