Nettala Muthappa Rai Derla[1] (known as Muthappa Rai (M. R)) (died 15 May 2020)[5][6] was an Indian underworld don, businessman, philanthropist and a social activist based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

[12] Starting his career as a clerk in Vijaya Bank, Muthappa claimed to have accidentally turned to a life of crime in Bengaluru to protect his business — a bar and restaurant — from the onslaught of the underworld in 1980s.

The murder of a realtor, Subbaraju, in January 2001 by hired killers from Mumbai followed a dispute over a prime property in Bangalore.

[17] Due to lack of substantial information on his career in crime, for allegedly operating extortion rackets, helping property developers, taking possession of land in prime localities and collecting 'protection money' from business houses in Karnataka, through his links with Dawood Ibrahim, he was later acquitted.

[8] In a press meeting in January 2020, Rai had announced that he was diagnosed with brain cancer.