When the police resorted to lathi-charge and bursting of tear gas shells, the crowd smashed glass panes of the nearby commercial establishments on Lavelle Road, Richmond Road, Kasturba Road and Vittal Mallya Road. Repeated appeals from the actor's family members, too, could not bring the situation under control. Finally, the police opened fire and two people were killed.
If the thespian's sudden demise brought the entire city to a grinding halt on Wednesday, unruly crowds took control of the streets on Thursday. Violence was reported from many parts of the city as mobs gathered on roads. Any vehicle without a Rajkumar portrait on it had to bear the brunt of the attack. More than 30 private vehicles were damaged in the process.
Around 1 pm, the actor's body was taken in a procession through Gandhinagar, Bellary Road, Yeshwantpur and Outer Ring Road to the state government-owned Kanteerava Studios in the northern part of the city.
All along the procession route, an estimated 30,000 strong mob attacked and ransacked shops and hotels apart from damaging private vehicles. Even the OB vans and vehicles ferrying media persons were not spared.
As the actor's body reached the Kanteerava Studios, the police had to resort to caning and bursting of tear gas shells once again. The unrelenting mob set fire to vehicles forcing the police to open fire for the second time in which two people were killed. The actor was finally cremated with full state honours at 6 pm.
Despite the widespread violence, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy maintained throughout the day that the situation was always under control. One reason why more policement could not be mobilised was that a large number of them have been diverted to the neighbouring Kerala and Tamil Nadu states for poll duty.