Telangana: Revolutionary folk singer Gaddar passes away in Hyderabad due to ill-health

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Telangana folk singer and balladeer Gaddar, who was popularly known for his revolutionary songs during the 1980s and later during the Telangana statehood agitation, passed away here on Sunday due to ill-health. He was 77. Top leaders like AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in addition to Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, her Haryana counterpart Bandaru Dattatreya, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, as well as TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, State BJP chief G Kishan Reddy and several other leaders from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, expressed grief at Gaddar's demise.

Born as Gummadi Vittal Rao at Toopran in Medak district in 1949, the renowned folk singer and poet went on to become popular as 'Gaddar'. Gaddar died at Apollo Spectra Hospital in the city due to lung and urinary problems and advanced age, the hospital said in a statement. He was suffering from severe heart disease and got admitted on July 20.

He underwent a bypass surgery on August 3 and recovered from it, the hospital said. However, he has had a history of lung and urinary problems, which along with advanced age, became aggravated and led to his passing, it said. A former naxalite, Gaddar had led an underground life, including in the forests.

Subsequently, he had joined the mainstream and voted for the first time in his life in the Telangana Legislative Assembly polls in 2018. Gaddar, who was shot by assailants in the 1990s, had a bullet stuck in his spinal cord till the end. His body was taken to L B Stadium in the city to enable people to pay their last respects.