News

Tension over defacing of Raj’s bust

Tension prevailed for some time on Chamaraja double road after a few persons allegedly defaced the bust of the late thespian Rajkumar on Sunday. The residents of the area beat up four persons said to be involved in the incident — Krishna, Uday, Avinash and Madeva — and handed them over to the police.

The four reportedly damaged the ‘nose’ of the bust. Mayura Kannada Yuvaka Sangha (MKYS) president J Srinath (Babu) has registered a complaint with the K R police in this regard. (MKYS had installed the bust in memory of celluloid icon.)

Traffic was thrown out of gear for quite some time on the road as a large number of people thronged the spot following the news. On Sunday morning, Krishna, the ‘main accused’, seen standing near the bust, tried to flee as soon as he saw some persons coming his way, it is said. The youths who got suspicious chased and caught Krishna, who admitted to having damaged the bust, reportedly under the influence of ganja. The irate mob beat him black and blue. He also reportedly told them he had resorted to the act as he was promised Rs 5,000 by Uday, Avinash and Madeva, who run lottery and tea shops close by. Subsequently, the trio also had a taste of the wrath of the mob.

Raj Abhimani Seva Trust president Sadanand has demanded that the four be “banished from the city”. He said the damaged bust would be replaced with a new one. Adequate police security has been deployed at the spot to defuse tension.

Meanwhile, Uday and Avinash told the media at the police station they were innocent. Stating that they were not involved, they charged it was a ‘conspiracy’ of Mr Srinath, who had been “plotting to grab the Rama Mandira land”. This had led to ‘conflict’ between him and the trio for the past three-four years. “When we didn’t budge they stage-managed the incident, making Krishna point fingers at us,” they alleged.

Meanwhile, in protest against the ‘desecration’, the Rajkumar Abhimanigala Sangha will be staging a dharna on December 26 in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office. RAS president Desigowda called upon associations of fans of Rajkumar, Shivarajkumar and other Kannada organisations to take part in it.

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/dec252006/state122520061225.asp

© 2006 Dr. Rajkumar – Annavaru.