Puneeth Rajkumar
Famous Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar, who passed away at the age of 46, will be cremated on Sunday with full state honour, CM Basavaraj Bommai informed. He also said that Puneet Rajkumar's daughter has left Delhi and will reach Bengaluru by 6 o'clock. "The number of fans of Puneet is also high, we want everyone to have their last darshan, after 6 pm it is also challenging to make arrangements in Kanteerwa studio. That is why after talks with the family, it has been decided that the last rites of Puneet Rajkumar will now be performed tomorrow, " he said.
According to BJP MLA S.R. Vishwanath, Puneeth's elder daughter Dhruthi, who lives in the US, will be reaching New Delhi. Once she reaches, the mortal remains draped in Tricolour, will be taken to the Kanteerava Stadium in a procession for the last rites.
Puneeth, son of Kannada film legend Dr Rajkumar, passed away on Friday following a cardiac arrest. His mortal remains have been kept at Kanteerava Stadium for his fans to pay their last respects.
Meanwhile, unable to bear the loss of his beloved hero, 22-year Rahul Gadivaddara ended his life in Athani of Belagavi districton Friday.
According to the police, before hanging himself at hs residence, Rahul had garlanded Puneeth's photograph.
Lakhs of fans from across Karnataka and neighbouring states have been pouring in since Friday evening to bid final adieu to their favorite star.
The fans kept on streaming in throughout the night. The police had to resort to lathi charge to control the swelling mob.
Bigwigs of Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam industry are expected to visit Bengaluru and pay their last respects.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has held a meeting at his home office Krishna regarding managing the situation. Tight security arrangement has been made all over the city to prevent any untoward incident.
City Commissioner Kamal Pant has appealed to people not to pay heed to any rumours.
Reserve police platoons from other parts of the state have been deployed at Kanteerava stadium as more and more people are pouring in to bid farewell to the departed actor.
--With inputs from T Raghavan and IANS
