India's tech capital on alert after death of actor
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BENGALURU • Offices and shops in India's tech capital of Bengaluru shut down on Friday and police were brought in to control swarming crowds of fans in anticipation of violence after a popular actor died in the city.
Puneeth Rajkumar, 46, a dashing lead in films and a member of an illustrious movie family, died of a heart attack, doctors treating him told reporters.
Television channels showed crowds of fans swarming towards the hospital where the actor, known for his romantic and action movies, was being treated, and police were out in force trying to control them.
Indian media reported yesterday that hundreds of thousands of his fans had gathered at a Bengaluru stadium where the actor's body, wrapped in the Indian flag, had been placed to enable people to pay their respects.
Film stars are revered in India, almost obsessively, and even natural deaths of movie stars have led to violent turmoil in the past as distraught fans try to come to terms with the death of their idol.
The death of Rajkumar's father, Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj, in 2006 also led to outpourings of grief and shutdowns.
While malls in Bengaluru were open on Friday, several cinema halls closed for the day and stopped screening movies.
Several popular pubs across the city also closed after news of Rajkumar's death came in. India's biggest IT services firm, Tata Consultancy Services, asked employees to go home early, a worker at one of its Bengaluru offices told Reuters.
Accounting firm KPMG had asked employees to leave for home on Friday, an employee in the Bengaluru office told Reuters.
"I pray to the people of the state to do his last rites with respect, please be peaceful and allow the family to mourn in peace," Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said minutes after the actor's death was announced.
Film stars and politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sent condolences on Rajkumar's death. "A cruel twist of fate has snatched away from us a prolific and talented actor, Puneeth Rajkumar. This was no age to go," Mr Modi said in a tweet.
REUTERS
