Mangaluru: Relatives and Sangh Parivar activists relented to conduct the last rites of BJP activist Deepak Rao, who was hacked to death by four miscreants at Surathkal on Wednesday, after much persuasion by Deputy Commissioner S. Sasikanth Senthil on Thursday afternoon.

The DC also announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to be immediately paid to the family of Rao even as he said another Rs. 5 lakh would be paid from the Chief Minister’s fund. Talking to the family and activists, Mr. Senthil said he would also recommend payment of enhanced compensation to the family.

Angered over the move of the administration to shift Rao’s body to his residence on Thursday early morning itself from a private hospital in Mangaluru, hundreds of activists gathered at Ganeshpura near Surathkal, the native place of the victim, and began protest. The activists demanded that they would not allow cremation of the body until Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy visits the family.

However, Mr. Senthil arrived at the place to pacify members of the family as well as activists. He said the government was deeply pained over the incident wherein the family has lost its only breadwinner. It should not have happened, he said and added as the representative of the government, he was there with the family.

BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits had planned to take Rao’s body from A.J. Hopsital in the city to Surathkal in a procession on Thursday morning. However, the administration was not prepared to take any chance keeping in mind the violence during the procession of Sharath Madivala’s body a few months ago from Mangaluru to B.C. Road.

They got Rao’s body shifted to his residence even before activists gathered at the hospital. City Police Commissioner T.R. Suresh had also clamped prohibitory orders under Section 35 of Karnataka Police Act banning any procession till Thursday night.

Many leaders, including VHP Karnataka South President M.B. Puranik, MLC Ganesh Karnik, BJP leader Satyajith Surathkal, former Ministers B. Nagaraja Shetty and Krishna J. Palemar and others were present.

Meanwhile, shops and establishments in and around Surathkal, including Katipalla and Krishnapura, remained closed throughout the day. Normal life, however, was not affected even as vehicular movement too was normal in the region including on Mangaluru-Udupi National Highway 66.