Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar's last rites on Saturday

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Popular Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar's last rites will be held on Saturday after the return of his elder daughter Vanditha from the US. Karnataka Revenue Minister R. Ashok stated that the actor's last rites will be conducted with government honours.

His mortal remains were taken to his residence from the hospital. Later, his body will be kept at Kanteerava stadium in Bengaluru after 6.30 p.m. for final viewing till late Saturday evening.

Raghavendra Rajkumar, elder brother of Puneeth, said that his younger sibling took him to hospital when he had suffered heart attack twice earlier. "He got the pacemaker for me. He brought me back from the hospital safely. But I could not bring him back. He went to see my parents," he said.

Raghavendra Rajkumar stated that nothing has been decided yet on the last rites.

"Puneeth's spouse is inconsolable and not in a position to talk. We will decide after discussion with all relatives. We have requested to make arrangements for public 'darshan'. We all know what happened at the time of the death of our father (Kannada film legend Rajkumar) (Seven people were shot dead in the large-scale violence that followed after his death) That should not happen," he stated.

Dr Ranganath Nayak who treated Puneeth, explained that he developed chest pain after two hours of workout at a gym. He has consulted a family doctor and undergone ECG test.

"When, ECG results showed his condition was serious he was referred to our hospital. En route to hospital he suffered a massive cardiac arrest. When he was brought to hospital, there was no cardiac activity," he explained.

He further stated that the doctors tried to resuscitate Puneeth for three hours. "We have made all attempts to revive cardiac activity, but he could not be revived," he said.

Meanwhile, shocked by the untimely death of Puneeth, cricketers and Telugu film stars have expressed their condolences. Yash and other Sandalwood stars rushed to Puneeth's residence to console his family.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai appealed for peace, and maintenance of law and order in the state. "Puneeth's last rites will be held as per wishes of the family at their choice of place. We all should pay respects peacefully," he said.

"I spoke to him yesterday (Thursday) regarding launching his website," he remembered.

Chief Minister Bommai has also cancelled all his programmes for Friday and Saturday.

State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar stated that he knew Puneeth since childhood. "He was a good friend. Puneeth absolutely had no bad habits. He had no greed. Even though I have tried to pull him into certain habits he declined. He was totally determined and did not budge an inch," he said.

Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Soorya stated that Puneeth was a fitness freak, saying "His videos of workouts during the lockdown period served as an inspiration for all of us."

Cricketers Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Venkatesh Prasad, and Telugu film stars Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Junior NTR, Pavan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu also expressed their condolences.