M. P. Jayaraj Biography 
M. P. Jayaraj was a gangster of Bangalore in the 1970s and 1980s. He ruled Bangalore under the patronage of M. D. Nataraj, the then son-in-law of the Chief Minister of Karnataka Devaraj Urs. He also supported Congress Party. In the battle of power and supremacy he did the master plan to murder Kotwal Ramachandra, his arch rival in 1986. But he too lost his life in the hands of another emerging don, Muthappa Rai in the late 1980s. When he was killed his son was only 8 months old and his wife was only 19. Later his younger brother married her and they decided to keep the son away from the gangster world. Now the son has completed MBA and started his career as a film director.
He was born into a family with poor background in 1946. He belonged to Ganiga caste. In 1970s the backward castes were undergoing a major change in the Indian society. He was brought to the underworld by M. D. Nataraj. Once impressed by his answer when asked about his caste, Devaraj Urs appointed him as the president of the "Indira Brigade" – the youth wing of Congress party. When major changes were going on in the society under the leadership of Devaraj, his efforts to uplift poor sectors faced resistance from upper caste people. Devaraj Urs used both legal and illegal means to suppress such moves.
Thus under the patronage of M. D. Nataraj, he ruled as an underworld done in the 1970s. He had to go to jail for 10 years for assaulting a person called Thigallarapete Gopi in court premises and at this time, new dons like Kotwal Ramachandra and Oil Kumar started emerging as new powers. Jayraj gave support to Agni Shridhar to murder Kotwal Ramachandra. Though known as a gangster he was quite popular among common man and also ran a newspaper "Ghareebi Hatao". A supporter of congress, through the columns he targeted Janata Dal and police.
He was a professional fighter and had a strong physique. In the first murder attempt of Muthappa Rai he survived. He was attacked by a group of 12 men, against whom Jayaraj fought single-handed. He managed to escape into a police station, from where he was admitted to hospital. He also faced several murder attempts at hospital. He survived and later decided to contest as an independent candidate, as his party denied him a ticket. He had huge support from masses. But later he was gunned down by Muthappa Rai a day after he addressed his last big public rally on 20 November 1989. Jayaraj was shot dead near Siddapura in Bangalore.
Published: N/A
Updated: April 24, 2016
