Bengaluru: Congress MLA B Narayan Rao, who was undergoing treatment for coronavirus, died on Thursday, the hospital in Bengaluru where he was admitted said.

The 65-year-old Basavakalyan MLA from Bidar district in North Karnataka was admitted on September 1 after being diagnosed with severe COVID-19 infection, Manipal Hospital Director Dr Manish Rai said in a statement.

He passed away at 3.55 pm, it said.

Dr Rai said he was critically ill with multi-organ failure and on multiple supports including ventilator in the Intensive care unit under constant observation by an expert panel of doctors.

"We deeply regret the loss and express our condolences to his family and friends," he added.



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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.