Noted journalist and popular writer in Kannada Ravi Belagere (62) passed away in Bengaluru on Friday early morning. Belagere, editor of popular Kannada tabloid Hai Bangalore suffered a cardiac arrest on Thursday at midnight while editing his tabloid at his office in Padmanabha Nagar in South Bengaluru.
He was immediately rushed to a private hospital where he breathed his last at around 2:30 am on Friday, according to sources close to the family.
Born on March 15, 1958, in Ballari, Belagere became popular through his dashing crime and political reporting in various newspapers and magazines of Karnataka. After working with reputed publications for over a decade, he went on to start his own weekly tabloid Hai Bangalore, which subsequently became a household name across Karnataka. Later, he produced and anchored crime-based episodes to popular Kannada news channels for several years.
As a journalist, Belagere inspired many youngsters across Karnataka to take up a career in media. Besides editing his tabloid, he has authored, translated and edited more than 100 books in Kannada. He was also the founder of Prarthana School in Bengaluru.
Sources close to the family revealed that the mortal remains of Belagere will be placed at Prarthana School for paying final respects before the last rites are performed.