Sagayapuram councillor V. Elumalai, 40, passed away on Thursday around 1.30 a.m. The councillor was admitted to a private hospital around 20 days ago and was reportedly on ventilator support for as many days. He passed away owing to multi-organ failure.
He is survived by his wife and their three children. The councillor’s body was kept for public viewing in St. Charles School ground. Several shops in the ward voluntarily downed their shutters.
Elumalai was chairperson of the Standing Committee for Social Justice. According to sources, he had slipped into a coma. They said Elumalai was admitted to a private hospital in Fraser Town for a simple surgery. However, when the surgery did not go well, he was rushed to another private hospital where he was put on ventilator support. Several councillors had raised the issue in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike council recently, alleging medical negligence on the part of the hospital in Fraser Town.
With his passing away, as many as four councillors have died over the past three years. Lakkasandra councillor Mahesh Babu died in a road accident, Binneypete councillor Mahadevamma Nagaraj and Deputy Mayor R. Ramila Umashankar died after suffering cardiac arrest.