Mysuru, DHNS: Thousands gathered at the Mysuru Exhibition Grounds on Monday to pay their last respects to Rakesh, the elder son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who died in Belgium on Saturday.

Rakesh (39) died of multiple-organ failure at the University Hospital in Belgium. Siddaramaiah, wife Parvathi, younger son Dr Yathindra and Rakesh’s wife Smitha accompanied the cortege from Brussels.

The body was flown from Brussels to the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru earlier in the day. The body, which arrived at the Mysuru airport in Mandakalli at 11.10 am, was kept for public viewing between 12.45 pm and 2.30 pm.

Later, it was shifted to the chief minister’s farmhouse in T Katur near Udbur.

The last rites were performed at 5.30 pm by Rakesh’s son Dhavan at the farmhouse. Only family members and close relatives were allowed to partake in the burial ceremony, owing to space constraint.

A teary-eyed Siddaramaiah stood beside the cortege and expressed gratitude to all the people who had come to the grounds to pay their tributes to Rakesh.

When Union Minister D?V?Sadananda Gowda, who had lost his elder son a decade ago, approached him, Siddaramaiah could not hold back his tears.

Besides Governor Vajubhai Vala, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC general secretaries Digvijay Singh and Oscar Fernandes, many ministers; and former chief ministers S M Krishna, H D Kumaraswamy, Jagadish Shettar and B S Yeddyurappa; K S Eshwarappa and C T Ravi; and actors Ramkumar and Shashikumar, among others, paid floral tributes to the departed soul.

Home Minister G Parameshwara, Mysuru District In-charge Minister H C Mahadevappa and Cooperation Minister H?S?Mahadeva Prasad accompanied the hearse vehicle to the grounds from Mandakalli.

Apart from political leaders and ministers, people from the chief minister’s native Siddaramanahundi and other villages under the Varuna Assembly constituency came to Katur to catch a final glimpse of Rakesh. Katur comes under the Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, which was earlier represented by Siddaramaiah.

Dignitaries like Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami of Suttur mutt, Someshwaranatha Swami of Adichunchanagiri branch mutt and others who could not see the body in Mysuru went to the farmhouse.