VILLUPURAM: The ceremony arranged to pay homage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 23rd death anniversary was disrupted when a swarm of bees attacked the people who had gathered at the venue outside the collectorate, here on Wednesday.
The programme was held outside the collectorate to get the attention of the public. While arrangements were being made for the programme, a bee hive was disturbed when amplifiers were being set up. The swarm of bees attacked the people when the programme began. The Collector, RDO, DRO, a few other government officials and mediapersons were among those at the venue and were attacked. There was mayhem for at least 10 minutes as people had to run for cover.
Later, medical officers attended to the victims. The programme was then shifted indoors and Collector V Sampath presided over the ceremony. He paid homage to the political stalwart and other officials took a pledge to maintain communal harmony.