Mangaluru : Ajilady Chittaranjan Rai (85), passed away due to old age on Thursday, 23 April, 2020, at his residence in Old Kent Road, Pandeshwar, Mangalore. He is survived by his daughter Dr. Lavanya Varma, Associate Dean & HOD, Dept of Conservative Dentistry & Endodontics and son-in-law Dr. Manoj Varma, Dean & HOD Dept of Prosthodontics, Srinivas Institute of Dental Sciences, Mangalore and two grand children Vaibhav and Jai. He was the husband of late Dr. Asha Devi Rai, Renowned gynaecologist and obstetrician and former professor and HOD of Gynaecology, KMC, Mangalore. Due to COVID-19 lockdown, funeral was performed immediately observing social distancing and other mandatory restrictions.

Popularly known as A. C. Rai, he was born on 21 April,1935. One of the senior most members of Mangalore’s Badilaguthu family, he was the son of late Advocate A. Mahabala Rai and late Somavathi Rai. He did his B. Com at Government College, Mangalore and his post graduation at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay. He further did his LLB and he joined Consolidated Coffee Ltd in the early ’60s. He served the company for three decades rising to the position of General Manager. After taking voluntary retirement in the late ’80s, he went into businesses under his own banner L. A. C. Enterprises, comprising of various organizations.

He was a socially influential personality and was close to several prominent political leaders.