Thousands brave lathis to get glimpse of actor

Holding placards, Vishnuvardhan’s posters and Karnataka flags, grieving fans began assembling at the grounds from the morning and shouted slogans in favour of the iconic cinestar.

The rush at National College Grounds started from the morning. People from districts such as Tumkur, Mysore, Kolar and Chitradurga arrived to have a last glimpse of their hero. According to an estimate by the police, around 30,000 people turned up at the venue. The National College Flyover, its side roads and KR Road were all packed with his fans.

Tamil superstar Rajnikanth, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Ministers Janardhan Reddy and Ramachandra Gowda, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president R V Deshpande, JD (S) leaders Cheluvaraya Swamy and PGR Sindhia, cricketer Anil Kumble, film actors Suhasini, Sumalatha, Shruthi, Pooja Gandhi, Ganesh, Tamil film actor Vijay Kanth, Leelavathi, Vinod Raj, Sharath Kumar and playback singer S P Balasubramanyam were among those who paid homage.

The police placed barricades and traffic diversion plan for vehicles was quickly drawn and executed. Around 3,000 policemen were deployed at the National College while an equal number were kept in reserve to meet the law and order demands. The BBMP employees and junior rank workers of the Karnataka Film industry served as volunteers.
DH News Service