Rejecting allegations that the government and administrative machinery failed to contain mob violence during thespian Rajkumar's funeral, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today alleged that trouble had been "incited".
Rajkumar's fans were not responsible for the violence, Kumaraswamy asserted at a press conference in Bangalore, as the city returned to normal a day after witnessing an orgy of violence that claimed six lives in police firing and that of a
constable in mob violence. Another person was killed in a stampede near the funeral venue.
Confirming that eight persons had been killed, the chief minister said 235 persons were injured in the violence.
"The incident is not a black spot on the image of the government. There are several things I know, which I do not want to discuss in public," Kumaraswamy said, refusing to name the forces the administration had identified as responsible for inciting violence.
Commending the police, he said the situation would have gotten worse and more innocent people could have been affected, had the police not acted with restraint.
The chief minister did not say whether his government would order an inquiry into the violence. The cabinet would discuss the issue of payment of compensation to those killed and injured, he said.
Kumaraswamy said police personnel bore the brunt of the violence, as 174 of them had suffered injuries, with 56 admitted to hospitals.
Among civilians, 60 had been injured and nine were undergoing treatment as inpatients.
The police had taken 563 persons into preventive custody after trouble broke out following the demise of Rajkumar, he said.