This was a request Rajkumar made many, many times during his life. He even said this on the video recording Veerappan sent to his family and the Karnataka Government.

His distraught fans did just what he asked them not to, when he passed away on Wednesday, April 12. And everyone knew they would. They went on a rampage all over the city, even on the street on which he lived. They climbed the houses of his neighbours, threw themselves into his compound and generally made a nuisance to the general public.

How did Dr Rajkumar, the man whose death has thrown Karnataka into total disarray, become an icon? What was it about him that makes hundreds of grief-stricken young men want to vent their sorrow by stoning cars and buses?

Special: Farewell, Dr Rajkumar

Text: M D Riti | Photographs: Getty Images | Design: Uday Kuckian