Policemen chase away protesters, who were rallying against the murder of BJP activist Raju, in Mysuru on Monday

Mysuru: Monday’s bandh called by the BJP and VHP to protest the murder of an activist, Raju, 39, who was hacked to death by a mob Sunday evening, turned violent with vehicles set on fire and buses stoned even as the police beefed up security around the Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) where his body was kept.

Thousands of BJP and VHP leaders, including Pratap Simha, C.T. Ravi, Maruthi Rao Pawar, S.A. Ramdas, and G Madhusudan gathered in front of the MMCRI, protesting the party worker’s death .

They claimed he had played a leading role in preventing a mosque from coming up on a controversial site in Kyatamaranahalli and had agitated against the removal of VHP flags and insisted on the installation of a Ganapathi statue on the land on Mahashivarathri day.

Although the autopsy was done by 11am, the leaders refused to take the body for cremation, demanding that the activist’s assailants be nabbed and the government give a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to his family on the spot.

They only agreed to take the body at 4 pm, after Deputy Commissioner, C Shikha, Mysuru City Police Commissioner, B Dayanand and Superintendent of Police, Abhinav Khare held a peace meeting with them and gave Rs 5 lakh compensation to the worker’s family. The police also allowed them to take the body to Raju’s home before cremation as they wanted.

The body was taken in a procession by the BJP leaders to his home and later cremated at the Kyathamaranahalli Crematorium late Monday evening.

The BJP, VHP and RSS leaders ensured that all shops in the city remained closed except for medical stores and the Nandini milk parlours till evening.

In the unrest that followed a scooter and auto were set on fire at KR Circle, and two Volvo and a private bus were stoned at Fountain circle.

Police vehicles were also attacked near KR Hospital and in Udaygiri police station limits and the shops of a few merchants in KR Market were ransacked.

The police restored to a mild lathicharge to contain the situation, which slowly return ed to normal in most parts of the city except in Udaygiri police station limits and in the heart of the city.

While local Congress leaders condemned the murder, they demanded a fair investigation into the case and accused the BJP of politicising the worker’s death.

Meanwhile, with bus services being affected, hundreds of tourists were stranded in the city and several students of colleges, who had come to Mysuru to write their exams, found it difficult to return home. Train services were however not affected.

Soon after the cremation of Raju, when the crowd was returning, a few miscreants threw stones at them, forcing the police to resort to a lathi charge and lob tear gas shells.

An ETV reporter, Puttappa, was attacked with a sickle. He, however, escaped with minor injuries and has been admitted to a city hospital. Doctors said that he is out of danger.