The don-turned-activist succumbed to cancer after a years-long battle.
Former Bengaluru underworld don-turned-activist, and the founder of Jaya Karnataka, Muthappa Rai passed away on Friday morning after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 68. Muthappa Rai had suffered from brain cancer for years and was admitted to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru on April 30, according to hospital officials. “After a prolonged illness and hospitalization, we regret to inform the demise of 68-year-old Mr Muthappa Rai. He breathed his last at 1.43 am today. Manipal Hospitals expresses condolence to his entire family in this moment of grief,” a hospital spokesperson said. The police had interviewed Muthappa Rai on April 15 at his residence in Bidadi, after the extradition of Ravi Pujari, as at that point too, he was unwell. Muthappa Rai was interviewed in connection with a builder’s murder which took place in Bengaluru in 2001. Rai had begun his professional career as a clerk in Vijaya Bank. Later on in his life, he came to Bengaluru to start his own business, and apparently had first taken to crime to protect his business interests. He was also infamously held responsible for the murder of erstwhile Bengaluru don MP Jayaraj in 1990, which reportedly marked his entry into the underworld. His ascent in the criminal world subsequently even took him to Mumbai where he was linked with Dawood Ibrahim. Later, the retired gangster set up a social services organisation, Jaya Karnataka, in the early 2000s, after an alleged attempt on his life in which his driver was killed. According to the Jaya Karnataka’s Facebook page, the organisation, “aims at improving the quality of life of the people of Karnataka. A truly democratic, non-political organization that has originated in response to the ever-increasing problems of the people of this state.” He had made headlines in 2018 when he held an Ayudha pooja for his weapons: a display of guns, knives and machetes, which resulted in the Central Crime Bureau sending him a notice over the display. In 2013, director Ram Gopal Verma met with Muthappa Rai for an entire day and had seemingly decided to make an Indian version of ‘The Godfather’ with Muthappa Rai’s story at the centre. However, the movie has not seen the light of day, even though Vivek Oberoi was cast to play Muthappa Rai in this film. He is survived by his wife and two sons. The last rites will reportedly be held on Friday afternoon in Bidadi.
Body 2:
from Karnataka https://ift.tt/3bsrYNG
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment