Mortal remains buried next to graves of his parents at his native of Heggavadi, Chamarajanagar taluk

Mysore/Mysuru: The last rites of KPCC Working President R. Dhruvanarayan (61) was performed with full State honours, amid cries and sorrow of his family members and a large number of supporters at his native Heggavadi village in Chamarajanagar district this afternoon.

The mortal remains were laid to rest next to the graves of his parents — Siddamma and Rangaswamy — at the family’s farm in the village. His wife Veena paid her last respects, even as her sons Darshan and Dheeran performed the rituals. The Police Band performed the National Anthem and three rounds were  fired in the air by Police, marking the State honour.

Earlier, the body was kept in the premises of the house at the village and  was brought in a procession from Chamarajanagar at about 2 am. A bhajan was organised with a troupe rendering devotional songs and praying for the departed soul.

Congress flag

A teary-eyed KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar placed the Congress party flag on the box, where the body of Dhruvanarayan was kept. To enable villagers and others to pay their last respects, the Police, led by Chamarajanagar Superintendent of Police (SP) Padmini Saho and Additional Deputy Commissioner S. Kathyayini Devi, had made elaborate arrangements by barricading the pathway leading to the house of Dhruvanarayan.

While the village wore a near-deserted look, with the grief-stricken villagers yet to come out of the shock, the boards were erected to condole the death of a senior Congress leader.

The funeral was attended by Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Siddharamaiah, AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-Charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC Secretary and Karnataka in-Charge Roji M. John, KPCC Working President Saleem Ahmed, former Deputy Chief Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara, KPCC Working President Satish Jarkiholi, former KPCC President Dinesh Gundurao and former Ministers Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa and H. Anjaneya.

MLAs Dr. Yathindra Siddharamaiah and Anil Chikkamadu, MLC A.H. Vishwanath, former Chamarajanagar MPs Kagalavadi M. Shivanna and A. Siddaraju, former MLAs Kalale Keshavamurthy, A.R. Krishnamurthy and S. Balaraj,  Congress leader H.M. Ganesh Prasad from Gundlupet, former Presidents of Chamarajanagar ZP M. Ramachandra and Nagashri Prathap, farmer leader Chukki Nanjundaswamy were also present.