Kavita Mennon, 36, an ardent fan of Sridevi, along with her colleagues from an acting studio in Kerala had arrived in Mumbai two days ago to condole Sridevi’s death.
On Wednesday, thousands of fans of Sridevi gathered outside Pawan Hans crematorium in Vile Parle. Hundreds of fans from the country's south too had gathered to get a glimpse of the actress. Mumbai police had posted more than 300 policemen to control the crowd, which eventually led to mild lathicharge, which left them disheartened.
Kavita Mennon, 36, an ardent fan of Sridevi, along with her colleagues from an acting studio in Kerala had arrived in Mumbai two days ago to condole Sridevi's death.
"We were first waiting outside Sridevi's house and later we came to the crematorium on Wednesday morning. First, we were asked to leave the skywalk which was completely blocked. Later, we went down to the road and suddenly the crowd swelled and police started hitting the fans who were waiting eagerly to see the actress one last time," said Kavita.
"My friend was dragged into the police van and we had to plead to the police to let him go. We are emotionally connected to Sridevi and it is our love that made us come all the way to Mumbai," said Mennon.
Karunesh Kumar, 28, from Kerala accompanied Mennon and eight other fans who run a fan club. "We did not intend to disrupt the funeral or create trouble. We were waiting underneath the skywalk when suddenly the police resorted to lathicharge and we were hurt. The police should have made proper arrangements as per her fan following. We had a bad experience with Mumbai police."
Sanjay Kadam, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bandra division, said, "Few fans were creating trouble and we had to go ahead with mild lathicharge to control the crowd. No one was injured in the incident."
Shanti Mudaliar, another fan of Sridevi, said, "We have seen all of Sridevi's films that she featured in in the South Indian film industry. It was her South Indian accent in Bollywood that connected with us and so we had to come to Mumbai and pay her a tribute. We have decided to donate part of our earnings for the education of girl child and development of special children in her name."
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