Former underworld don Muthappa Rai critical in Bengaluru hospital

In April, Rai was questioned by Central Crime Branch officials for two hours to ascertain his alleged association with underworld don Ravi Pujari, who was extradited from Senegal February this year.

Former underworld don-turned-social activist Muthappa Rai is in a critical condition at a private hospital in Bengaluru. The 68-year-old has been battling cancer for the past few months and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday night, according to sources. This January, Rai had held a press meet at his bungalow in Bidadi, Ramanagara district, and announced that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

In April, Rai was questioned by Central Crime Branch officials for two hours to ascertain his alleged association with underworld don Ravi Pujari, who was extradited from Senegal February this year. As Rai was unwell, a team of officials went to his house to question him. On April 30, he was admitted to the private hospital after his condition deteriorated, though he later came back home.

In the January press meet, Muthappa Rai said he had already prepared a legal will and communicated the same to his children. “I am 68 years old now, diagnosed with cancer. I survived even after being hit with five bullets. I am not afraid of death and living entirely on will power,” he had said. He has undergone cancer treatment at hospitals in New Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Muthappa Rai: From banker to realtor

Rai started his career as a bank employee in Bengaluru. He later started a dance club and restaurant along with wife Rekha. In 2002, Rai was deported from UAE by the Dubai Police and subsequently Interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Karnataka Police about his alleged associations with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Rai, a native of Puttur in coastal Dakshina Kannada district, later founded ‘Jaya Karnataka’, a not-for-profit organisation. He is now a realtor and entrepreneur.

Rai was an accused in the sensational murder of Subbaraju, a builder, at Vyalikaval in Bengaluru in 2001. A court had later acquitted him.