Karnataka minister Umesh Katti dies of heart attack

BENGALURU: Forest and food and civil supplies minister Umesh V Katti - a political heavyweight from Belagavi who represented Hukkeri in the assembly eight times - passed away in Bengaluru late Tuesday night following a heart attack.
Sources said the 61-year-old minister collapsed in the bathroom of his house around 10.30pm and was rushed to MS Ramaiah Hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Katti won 8 of 9 polls since 1985
Of the nine elections he contested since 1985 from Hukkeri, he had won eight times, losing once in 2004.
A mass leader from Chikkodi region, Katti connected with the people through the two sugar factories that his family owns in the town. His family has been actively involved in the cooperative movement since his father was an MLA of Hukkeri in the early 1980s.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state has lost a statesman and an able and honest administrator. Katti's body will be flown to Belagavi on Wednesday for final rites.