bengaluru reformed underworld don and real estate businessman muthappa rai died in a hospital here on friday after a fouryear battle with cancer rai was 68 and is survived by his wife and two sons his supporters took his body in a procession to his farmhouse in bidadi ramanagara where he was laid to rest in the evening seven people were arrested for opening fire in the air in a gun salute of sorts during rais last ritesborn in puttur rai worked as a clerk in a bank in mangaluru before crossing paths with the underworld in the 80s and 90s transferred to bengaluru he quit his job and his name began to be linked to several extortion murder and conspiracy cases with the authorities on his trail he fled to dubai and came to be associated with dawood ibrahim following an interpol alert rai was extradited in 2002 he would go on to claim he was a patriot who had helped intelligence agency research and analysis wing in afghanistan a few months in jail a murder attempt on him in court and finally acquittal on all criminal charges changed the course of his life rai founded jaya karnataka a kannada organisation became a patron of kabbaddi and volleyball tournaments and was president of karnataka athletics association a racing afficionado he was hailed in puttur as a son of the soil who patronised kambala and yakshagana and brought the glamour of bollywood and sandalwood to the grand events in the coastlink with ravi pujarirai was recently questioned in his farmhouse in connection with a doublemurder case in which another underworld don ravi pujari who was extradited to india earlier this year is an accused in january addressing speculation over his health rai had said he was battling brain cancer and was surviving on sheer will power