M. P. Jayaraj Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Mysore Puttaswamaiah Jayaraj
Profession(s)	Mafia, Gangster, Politician
Known for	Being the first and most popular gangster operating in Bangalore in the 1970s and 1980s
Physical Stats & More
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Personal Life
Date of Birth	Year, 1944
Birthplace	Bangalore
Date of Death	21 November 1989
Place of Death	Siddapura, Karnataka
Age (at the time of death)	45 Years
Death Cause	Assassination [1]Hindustan Times
Zodiac sign	Scorpio
Nationality	Indian
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Marriage Date	12 May 1988
Family
Wife/Spouse	Helen
Children	Son- Ajit (actor)
Siblings	Brother- M. P. Umesh Sister- Hemavati

Some Lesser Known Facts About M. P. Jayaraj

• M. P. Jayaraj was an Indian gangster who is known for ruling the underworld in Bangalore in the 1970s and 1980s.

• When he was young, he used to like wrestling a lot, and he used to practice it at Annayappa Garadi in Thigalrapete. He was introduced to the path of the underworld by M. D. Nataraj, the son-in-law of then Chief Minister of Karnataka Devaraj Urs.

• He used to work at Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL), but was asked to leave because of his irregularity in the office. After leaving his job, he started extortion.

• Jayaraj was the first and most famous gangster during the 1970s and 1980s in Banglore. He was brought to the limelight by the son-in-law of the chief minister of Karnataka Devaraj Urs. In the 1970s, the Karnataka government was working towards the benefits of the Dalit caste and backward class and they used Jayaraj to stop the opposition who tried to come in their way of the vision. Jayaraj used to threaten the opposition.

• In 1979, while he was rising in the underworld under the hands of M. D. Nataraj, the son-in-law of CM, he attacked Thigallarapete Gopi on court premises after which he was sent to jail for 10 years. While he was serving his punishment, he started losing his terror from people’s hearts and in 1984, when he came out of jail, other dons like Kotwal Ramachandra and Oil Kumar started ruling the underworld.

• He waited for two years to again make his name in the underworld and in 1986, he murdered Kotwal Ramachandra with his associates Agni Shridhar, Varadharaja Nayak and Bacchan. He was again sent to jail in 1986 along with Agni and Bachchan. In 2007, a movie titled ‘ Aa Dinagalu’ showed how Kotwal Ramachandra was murdered.

• Jayaraj again came to the limelight after which he started the newspaper “Ghareebi Hatao” which he used to print articles targeting Janata Dal politicians and the police.
  

  A picture of M. P. Jayaraj with Rajiv Gandhi in a press conference after the launch of weekly paper Gareebhi Hataao

• While he serving his punishment in jail, he was attacked in front of the Bengaluru Central Jail by a group consisting of Pushparaj alias Cottonpete Pushpa, Chakre, Bekkinakannu Rajendra and other sharpshooters. He fled the place and went inside the jail.

• He was attacked again when he was admitted to the K R hospital for treatment of the injuries he got in the first attack. A group of sharpshooters came to the hospital and fired bullets at him, but he escaped again by throwing bombs at them and distracting them.

• When he was in jail, one of his close associates Station Shekar was killed in a police encounter after which he tried to bring the case in the limelight by writing articles in his newspaper, but he case was closed.

• In the 1980s, he became the leader of the group titled ‘Indira Brigade’ that used to protect the leaders of the ruling party. In an interview, retired assistant commissioner of police BB Ashok Kumar said that the gang had their own torture rooms. They used to take money from the couples sitting in the parks.

• In 1989, Jayaraj stood in MLA elections from Jayanagar as an independent candidate. His 15-day parole was accepted by the court so that he could campaign for the elections. He chose a tiger as the symbol of his party. Out of the 15 days of campaigning, one day, he took a tiger in a cage with him to attract the people of the area. Many people gathered around his jeep to take a look at the tiger and he smiled at them and waved back.

• Jayaraj was assassinated on 21 November 1989 at 7:20 am when he was returning from the Siddapura police station after signing the register. His car was stopped by gangsters Muthappa Rai, Subash Singh Thakur and 10 others who started taking gunshots at the car. Jayaraj was travelling with his brother M.P. Umesh, his lawyer Vardhamanayya and other associates. When the firing occurred, his brother who was driving the car got distracted and the car crashed. His brother escaped the scene, but the lawyer was dead. One of his associates tried to help him by shielding Jayaraj and another associate gave him a bomb, but the shooters kept firing at the car and Jayaraj died on the spot.

• Jayaraj’s wife raised her son to not follow in the footsteps of his father. In an interview, she talked about this and said,
  

  I was very young when Jayaraj married me. He died, leaving me in a state of shock. But I wanted Ajith to lead a good life. So I digested everything and went away from it all. We have struggled a lot to build his career. I wanted him to choose any field other than the underworld. Now, he is doing his MBA while acting in a movie. I’m happy he is a good human being.”

• In 2022, a Kannada film ‘Head Bush’ based on the book written by gangster Agni Sridhar was released. The film also had scenes about Jayaraj which offended his son Ajit. He claimed that his father was shown in the wrong light in the film. He further complained to the Film Chamber of Commerce and said that he would fight a legal case against the film. In an interview, Jayaraj’s sister came forward to support the film and said,
  

  Some people say they know my brother, are related and make me laugh by speaking for publicity. His name controversies are old now, they are now comedies. My brothers are the ones who tell the world about my brother’s personality as a part of Headbush movie. Good luck to Headbush movie team.”

  

  Poster of the film ‘Head Bush’