Bengaluru, March 2 -- Thousands gathered in Alipura of Karnataka's Chikkaballapur district on Sunday to mourn the death of Iran's Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, even as they recalled his visit to the village in 1981 to inaugurate a hospital built in collaboration with the Iranian government.

The facility that still bears his name.

Shops were shuttered and black flags lined the streets of Alipura, about 70 kilometres from Bengaluru, as community members dressed in black took out a procession led by the Anjuman-e-Jafaria Committee.

"We held a meeting with the Anjuman-e-Jafaria Committee members. They have planned a prayer meeting on Sunday afternoon, followed by a procession protesting the death of Khamenei," said Kushal Chouksey, Superint...