Karnataka Minister Umesh Katti dies due to cardiac arrest

Karnataka Minister Umesh Katti died due to cardiac arrest at a private hospital here on Tuesday night, official sources said.The minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs and forest was 61-years-old. He is survived by his wife, son and daughter.According to sources, Katti collapsed in the bathroom of his Dollar’s Colony residence here and was rushed to the hospital.State revenue minister R Ashoka said according to doctors, Katti had no pulse when he was brought to the hospital.He termed Katti’s death a huge loss to the BJP and to the Belagavi district.Expressing grief over the death of his cabinet colleague and a ”close friend”, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the state has lost an experienced statesman, dynamic leader and a loyal public worker.Several of Bommai’s cabinet colleagues, including Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol, Health Minister K Sudhkar and several BJP leaders rushed to the hospital upon receiving the news.