Reformed underworld don, Muthappa Rai passes away

Bengaluru, May 15: Reformed underworld don, Muthappa Rai died early this morning in Bengaluru at the age of 68.

He is survived by his two sons, Rocky and Vicky. Suffering from brain cancer for the past one year, Rai was hospitalised a few days back. He was on life support and breathed his last at 2 am on Friday.

He will be cremated today at 2 pm and his family members have requested his supporters not to attend the funeral and respect the law in wake of the prevailing COVID-19 situation. His son, Rocky is in Canada and will not be able to attend the funeral. His other son, Vicky is, however, in Bengaluru and was by his father's side, when he passed away.

A former bank employee, Rai took to the underworld in the 1970s. In Bengaluru, where gangs used swords and machetes, Rai is the one said to have introduced the gun culture. Rai then shifted his base to Mumbai and Dubai and established himself, while continuing with his underworld operations.

He was an accused in the murder of realtor, Subbaraju in 2001. He was deported to India in 2002. He was, however, cleared of all charges by the court. Rai claimed later on that he had reformed and had quit the underworld. He also got involved in social work through his organisation Jaya Karnataka. Through his organisation, he created several followers. He was also the president of the Karnataka Athletics Association and organised the Kambala or buffalo race in Dakshin Kannada.

A movie on Rai titled Greatest Gangster Ever is being made by noted filmmaker, Ram Gopal Verma. The film would see Vivek Oberoi playing the lead role.