Complete chaos at Rajaji Hall where Karunanidhi's body is lying in state. DMK cadres come to blows with the police after they were lathi-charged when the barricades around the casket were broken.

Only VVIPs are allowed inside Rajaji Hall to pay tribute to the mortal remains of DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi.

The police even tried to move the casket inside Rajaji Hall but were prevented from doing so by the milling, unruly cadres. Karunanidhi's last journey from Rajaji Hall to Marina Beach is expected to take place at around 5 pm. The distance between the two places is just 2km and should not take more than 10 minutes in normal situations. But today it could take up to 2 hours if not more.


However, frustrated DMK cadre pushed through the barricades to get a glimpse of the body even though DMK MLAs have been making constant announcements asking the cadre to get a hold of themselves as this kind of unruly behaviour was not in keeping with Kailaignar's teachings.

Chennai police commissioner AK Vishwanath at the spot to take control of the security measures.

TV reporters at the spot say the police numbers are woefully inadequate to control the crowds.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has already landed at Chennai but is not allowed to arrive at Rajaji Hall given the security threat here.