Two die, two injured in stampede in front of Chennai's Rajaji Hall
Chennai, Aug 8 (IBNS): Two people died and two others were seriously injured in a stampede outside Rajaji Hall in Chennai on Wednesday as a sea of people kept swelling to get a glimpse of the mortal remains of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, media reports said.
The incident occurred as the crowd, in one estimate more than one-lakh strong, went beyond the control of the police.
The body of Karunanidhi, a five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and a towering figure in Tamil Nadu politics, was kept in the hall to enable the people to pay their last respect to the departed leader.
Kalaignar, as he was fondly called, passed away on Tuesday at Kauvery hospital at the age of 94. His body will be buried at the Marina beach.
Several top politicians of the country, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi, were among the stream of dignitaries who visited the Rajaji Hall and paid tribute to Karunanidhi.
In a tweet, Modi described Karunanidhi as an "extraordinary leader" who devoted life to the cause of the people.
Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also visited the place and paid her respect to Karunanidhi.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his cabinet colleagues, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, superstar actor Rajnikanth, actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan also paid their tributes.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, his Telangana counterpart Srinivas Rao, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are also expected to come down to the Rajaji Hall to pay their tributes to Karunanidhi.
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