Reformed underworld don Muthappa Rai passed away at the age of 68 at 2:00 am on 15 May. He had been suffering from brain cancer for the past one year. He was hospitalised a few days ago and was in a critical condition. He was also on life support system before he passed away, Bangalore Mirror reported.
Rai is survived by two sons, Rocky and Vicky.
His family has appealed to his followers to not step out of their homes and respect the law. According to the guidelines issued in this third phase of the lockdown due to COVID-19, only twenty people are allowed to be present at a funeral.
Rai has left behind a vast business which include real estate as well as ventures in the hospitality sector.
Rai and the Underworld
According to Bangalore Mirror, Rai was a bank employee who took to the underworld in 1970s. It did not take him a lot of time to establish himself.
He is said to be someone who introduced guns to the underworld in Bengaluru, that was still using swords and machettes then. Later, he shifted his base to Mumbai and Dubai where he further established himself as a businessman while continuing his operations in the underworld.
Karnataka police issued arrest warrants against Rai in eight cases, including murder and conspiracy, PTI reported. In 2002, he was deported to India from the United Arab Emirates. On arrival, he was questioned by various investigation agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), and by the Karnataka police. He was however, later acquitted due to the lack of evidences.
Subsequently he was cleared of all cases by the courts. For the last two decades, he claimed to have quit the underworld and got involved in social work through the charitable organisation Jaya Karnataka, Bangalore Mirror reported.
Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma has made a film on Rai. The film with actor Vivek Oberoi in the lead role, was shot in Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Dubai and London. However, it has not been released due to production delays, PTI reported.
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