Hundreds pay last respect to Bondala Jagannath Shetty

Mangalore, August 1: Leaders and workers of Congress party, activists and representatives of various organisations and hundreds other on Wednesday paid their last respects to former District Youth Congress chief Bondala Jagannath Shetty in the city.

People in large numbers turned up to pay their tribute to the late leader whose mortal remains were kept in front of District Congress Office, here for public homage. With folded hands, the mourners were seen passing by the flower bedecked coffin amidst the presence of grieving family members.

After paying their last respect to the departed leader District Congress Committee president and Bantwal MLA B Ramanath Rai said that Tuesday night's accident was indeed an accident for all the leaders and workers of Congress party from this region. No one can fulfill this loss, he added.

Former MP Vinay Kumar Sorake opined that Shetty was one of the uncontroversial and much revered leaders of Congress party in Bantwal-Puttur region. “He was a secular leader and true Congress man. Though he had lost Puttur Assembly constituency to Mallika Prasad in 2008 elections, he worked for the people till his last breath,” he said.

Terming Shetty's death as most unfortunate incident Mangalore MLA U T Khader said that Congress party could never forget former's contribution. “This a great loss for all of us. I lost one of my best friends forever”, he said.

JD(S) leader MG Hegde and District Congress Secretary T K Sudhir among others also paid their homage. The mortal remains were later taken in a procession to his hometown in Bantwal for final rites.

Earlier:

Congress leader Bondala Jagannath Shetty killed in accident

Mangalore, July 31: In a late-night tragedy, one of the prominent Congress leaders from Coastal Karnataka, Bondala Jagannath Shetty died on spot, when his car met with an accident near Panemangalore.

39-year-old Shetty was returning home when his Fortuner SUV collided with a gas tanker at around 11:00pm on Tuesday.

The unexpected tragedy comes a day after he addressed a media conference in Mangalore to condemn the homestay attack.

Hailing from Bantwal taluk, Shettey had jumped into politics at an early age and held many positions in Congress party. Between 2001 and 2009 he was the president of Dakshina Kannada district Youth Congress.

In 2008 assembly elections Shetty had contested from prestigious Puttur constituency and had lost to Bharatiya Janata Party's Mallika Prasad by a margin of around 1500 votes.

He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a large number of relatives, friends and well-wishers.