Senior journalist Ravi Belagere, editor of Hai Bangalore tabloid, passes away

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Nov 13, 2020:    Prominent Bengaluru-based journalist and writer Ravi Belagere passed away on Friday morning. He was 62. According to sources, Ravi suffered a heart attack on Thursday night at tabloid Hai Bangalore office. He was declared dead by Apollo Hospitals in Bengaluru where he was admitted on Thursday night itself. He is survived by two sons, two daughters and his wife.

 

He was running the Kannada tabloid as the editor-in-chief which he started in 1995. Ravi Belagere started his career as a history lecturer in Ballari. He came to Bengaluru in 1984 and worked as receptionist at a lodging facility. He took up many low paying jobs and worked to distribute newspapers and milk. He later began working in a printing press. In 1995, he started the tabloid Hai Bengaluru along with parters RT Vittalmurty, Somnath, Jogi and Sangam Dev.

Ravi Belagere’s tabloid became known for its extensive coverage of the Bengaluru underworld and the dreaded gangsters in Bengaluru. His volume in the tabloid including Love Lavike, Khaas Baat and Paapigala Lokadalli became extremely popular. In the colum Paapigala Lokadalli, he wrote about the inner workings of the underworld and the police force. He later started a magazine called O Manase, which also became a success.

Apart from being a noted journalist, Ravi has authored 70 books. Among other works, his Kannada translation of ‘Himalayan Blunder’ enjoyed lasting popularity.

The popularity of his column Paapigala Lokadalli also led him to publish a two-part book of the same name which opened up discussions about the underworld in Bengaluru. He was also a contestant in Bigg Boss Kannada Season 7.

The popularity of his column Paapigala Lokadalli also led him to publish a two-part book of the same name which opened up discussions about the underworld in Bengaluru.  
His writings were often controversial and they earned him both friends and foes.

Controversies and a murder case

In 2017, he was embroiled in a controversy after the Karnataka Assembly sentenced him to one year imprisonment for alleged “defamatory writings” against Congress MLA BM Nagaraj and BJP MLA SR Viswanath.

At that time he had prevented his arrest by getting himself admitted to the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences in Hubballi.

Ravi and Anil Raju of Yelahanka Voice – was sentenced in June, 2017 to one year in prison and fined Rs 10,000 each, by the then Karnataka Assembly Speaker KB Koliwad, a move that was criticised by many in the media. Both editors were found guilty of breach of privilege for publishing allegedly defamatory articles against legislators. However, the editors got relief from the Karnataka High Court.

Later that year he was arrested by Central Crime Branch in a separate incident for allegedly hiring a contract killer to murder a fellow journalist Sunil Heggaravalli. Then the police had said that they had found a double barrel gun and 41 bullets, deer skin, 1.5x1.5 ft tortoise shell and  a revolver and 53 bullets. In connection with the case, he had spent many days at the Parappana Agrahara central jail too.

Courtesy:The News Minute