Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Updated
Mangaluru, Jan 4: Deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, Sasikanth Senthil, and police commissioner, T R Suresh, have succeeded in convincing the family members of Deepak and activists of Hindu organizations not to insist on the presence of state home minister before the body of Deepak could be accepted.
The district administration has permitted to hold funeral procession from the residence of the victim to the graveyard. Elaborate police security has been arranged all along this 750-metre route.
Senthil also asked the family to directly contact him if they do not receive compensation amount of ten lac rupees in time.
Preparations went on in full swing for holding the funeral procession followed by funeral at Katipalla.
The last rites were performed at the Janata Colony crematorium here by Deepak's younger brother Satish in accordance with the Shivaji Kshatriya customs. Satish lit the funeral pyre.
Earlier, the body of Deepak Rao, who was murdered on Wednesday January 3, was shifted to his home in Katipalla secretly by the police who did not allow holding of funeral procession. When the news spread, right-wing activists as well as Deepak's parents did not allow the mortal remains to be brought out of the ambulance. An atmosphere of tension persists in the area.
Hindu organizations had decided to take Deepak's body from the hospital to his residence at Katipalla Kaikamba in a procession. A bandh call had also been given in Suratkal and Katipalla areas to register protest. Sensing trouble, the police had clandestinely moved the body of Rao without informing the concerned today morning to his home at Katipalla.
The body was moved out of the rear door of the mortuary but once it reached Katipalla, activists and family members objected to unloading of the body from the ambulance. They resented the secret operation conducted by the police and demanded for taking the body back.
There was tension inside the house of Deepak too. Efforts being made by the police to convince family of Deepak and activists to accept the body have not succeeded so far. In the meanwhile, the family has arranged to shift the body of Deepak to an air-conditioned ambulance to ensure that the body does not decompose.
Right wing leaders led by Satyajit Suratkal and others held a strong protest at Ganeshkatte in Suratkal, where a large crowd gathered. The protestors raised slogans against the police and the state government and demanded justice to Deepak's family. The protestors also demanded that the home minister personnally visit the family.
The streets wore a deserted look as shops and other commercial establishments closed down. The bandh called by the right-wing organizations seemed to have received good response as most people, except the protestors, chose to stay inside their houses.
Rs 10 lac compensation announced
Deputy commissioner Sasikanth Senthil who visited the spot sanctioned Rs 5 lac as compensation for the bereaved family. When the locals objected stating that the amount was not enough and demanded Rs 50 lac, the DC informed that and additional Rs 5 lac would be given soon through the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
In the meanwhile, in addition to compensation of five lac rupees to the bereaved family by way of compensation, the state government has also announced additional five lac rupees from Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
Watch Video: