TIRUCHY: Amid heavy police deployment, Hindu Munnani founder Rama Gopalan was laid to rest at the Bharathi Vidhyasharam School campus in Seerathopu near Tiruchy on Thursday afternoon. The 94-year-old was being treated for Covid-19 in a Chennai hospital when he died on Wednesday.
Popularly known as 'Veera Thuravi' (brave sage), Rama Gopalan's mortal remains, packed as per Covid protocol, were buried at the campus of the school he had built. Several functionaries of the Hindu Munnani, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and the BJP, including former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan and the saffron party’s former national secretary H Raja, attended the ceremony.
Radhakrishnan, speaking to reporters, said Rama Gopalan’s contribution to the welfare of the Hindu community was invaluable. “He worked extremely hard and dedicated his entire life to the welfare of the Hindu community. From the 1980s, he had been working round the clock for the growth of the Hindu Munnani. His loss has left a void," he said.
Following his demise, Rama Gopalan’s mortal remaining were packed as per Covid protocol and transported to Tiruchy in a hearse. In preparation for the burial, Tiruchy Police had beefed up security in the city from 5 am in the morning. Cops were deployed at every 50 meters from Woraiyur to Seerathopu, the proposed route of the hearse. Posters mourning the loss of Rama Gopalan were seen all along the campus along with Hindu Munnani flags.
Several police officers, including Central Zone IG HM Jayaram, Central Zone DIG Anne Vijaya, Tiruchy SP T Jeyachandran, and Tiruchy City Commissioner J Loganathan, were present at the venue of the burial to coordinate the safety arrangements.
When Rama Gopalan’s body arrived, hundreds of Hindu Munnani functionaries, waiting to catch a final glimpse of their leader, shouted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. The wrapped body was placed inside a freezer box around which police set up barricades at a distance of 20 meters so that members of the public could not go near it. Although the State government norms stipulate that only 20 people can gather at funerals, over 500 people from various parts of the State attended the burial to pay tribute to the leader.
Prior to his burial, hundreds of RSS Swayamsevaks along with former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan paid tribute to the late Hindu Munnani founder by reciting the RSS prayer and saluting him. The last rites were performed by Padmanaban, the late leader’s personal caretaker.