A 55-year-old protester died of a suspected heart attack during a protest here in front of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office on Queen’s Road here on Thursday.
The deceased, Velu, a resident of Halanayakanahalli near Sarjapur road, was protesting along with about 4,000 people on Thursday afternoon when the crowd got unruly and tried moving the barricades placed by the police in front of the building.
According to one of the protesters, K.C. Shivanna, the police allegedly resorted to mild caning as the mob got a little wild due to which chaos erupted as people scattered about in a rush. “During the chaos, Velu fell onto the ground face forward and hit his chest on the pavement of the road in front of the building. We then immediately rushed him to Jain hospital,” he said. However he was declared brought dead at the hospital and initial reports indicated that he died due to a heart attack.
The protesters were said to be lobbying for Nallurahalli T. Nagesh to get a Congress ticket. Mr. Shivanna said that the protesters had gone to the KPCC office to submit a memorandum, but however did not find any senior leaders on the premises. Police said that as the mob of 4,000 to 5,000 persons went on to the Queen’s Road around 1 pm, the traffic movement too was blocked.
Velu is survived by his wife Gowri, daughter Rajeshwari, two sons Bharat Kumar and Murugan, and his daughter-in-law Shalini. His family members rushed to the Bowring hospital, as they heard the news of the death.
Ms. Shalini said that the workers had come to their house around 8.30 a.m. and had picked up Velu along with them.
He did not have any affiliation to any political party as well, she said. Velu, a native of Tirupattur of Dharmapuri district, had come to the city five years ago and had been previously working as a security guard. However, due to high diabetes, he had quit his job about two years ago and had remained unemployed, said Ms. Shalini.
