Crowds throng Exhibition Grounds to have last glimpse of Rakesh

There was a delay of over 90 minutes in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Rakesh’s body reaching the Exhibition Grounds here, where it was kept for public viewing on Monday.

Rakesh (39) died of multi-organ failure in Belgium on Saturday. According to the schedule, public viewing of the body was arranged from 11 am to 1 pm. But, the body was brought to the Exhibition Grounds only at 12.45 pm. Though the body arrived at Mysuru airport at 11.10 am, there was a delay in bringing it to the Exhibition Grounds. For, a large number of people were waiting to pay their last respects on the roads leading to Exhibition Grounds from the airport.

Supporters of Rakesh and Siddaramaiah started to descend on the Exhibition Grounds from 8 am itself and a huge crowd was present there by the time the body arrived.

Even senior politicians like as former chief ministers M Veerappa Moily and B S Yeddyurappa, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Assembly Speaker K B Koliwad, Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council K S Eshwarappa, former minister C T Ravi and other leaders had reached the Exhibitions Grounds some 30 minutes before the body arrived.

Despite the police making elaborate security arrangements, dignitaries struggled to enter to the place where the body was placed for public viewing, due to huge crowds. Though the police had provided separate entrances for VIPs and public, people entered in through the VIP gate and the police could not control them.

According to the police, more than 30,000 people paid their last respects to the departed soul at the Exhibition Grounds. A couple of barricades snapped at a few places due to the rush. Many people were injured as the barricades collapsed. The body was shifted from the Exhibition Grounds at 2.30 pm and taken by road to T Katur on the outskirts of Mysuru where the last rites were performed.