The death of a famous actor led to rioting yesterday in Bangalore, the Indian IT capital, where police killed four people while trying to restore order. A police officer was also beaten to death when troubles broke out after a public holiday was declared so that fans could pay tribute to their hero.
Many others were unable to get to work, and call centres that serve British customers were disrupted. Rajkumar, the star of more than 200 films, died on Wednesday, aged 77.
Tens of thousands of fans were thwarted when they tried to view his body, which was put on display at a Bangalore stadium, and attend his funeral at a film studio on the outskirts of the city.
As Rajkumar's cortége made its way through the city streets, violent mourners clashed with police, set vehicles on fire and damaged the route.
Some call centres were left short-staffed, making customers 5,000 miles away in Britain more irate than usual.
