BENGALURU: The anxiety and wait for over two days came to a tragic end for the families of A Maregowda and H Puttaraju, after the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka confirmed the deaths of two JD(S) workers who were presumed missing after the serial blasts in Colombo.
The embassy which released the list of names to the state Chief Minister stated that a total of 10 were killed from Karnataka. “It is extremely disheartening to know that all seven of my party workers who were close to me are no more. May God give strength to his families to bear the loss,” said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy to the media on Tuesday.
Seven of the JD(S) workers had stayed in Hotel Shangri-La where the blast occurred. Identity of the five deceased were confirmed on Monday. Their relatives had gone to Sri Lanka on Monday evening and later on Tuesday morning identified the bodies of Maregowda and Puttaraj from the hospital in Colombo.
Meanwhile, the family members who were in Sri Lanka claimed that it was very difficult for them in Sri Lanka as they couldn’t communicate with the officials from the Indian Embassy. “Later, with the intervention of the Chief Minister and Sushma Swaraj the process was completed quickly. The mortal remains of Hanumantharayappa, Shivakumar, Lakshminarayana and Rangappa were handed over to us,” said brother-in-law of Shivakumar, one of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the family explained that the mortal remains will reach the Bengaluru International Airport at around 12.30 am midnight, after which they will have to be taken to MS Ramaiah hospital, to be kept in the mortuary, and then will be handed over to the family on Wednesday morning.
Also, the mortal remains of S R Nagaraj, a businessman who was found killed in the serial blasts reached the city at around 8.30 pm and was received by Home Minister M B Patil, MLA S R Vishwanth, and one of his relatives. Nagaraj’s family was very upset and shocked to even respond to the media. Meanwhile, the details of R Tulasiram and Narayan Chandrashekar are yet to be known.
Five families from Mysuru safe in Colombo, to return today
The 14-member tourists group along with BJP state general secretary M V Ravishankar and others who are stuck in Kandy after the bomb blast in Colombo, have decided to cut short their tour and return to Mysuru. Shocked over series of bomb blasts, the group has planned to take a return flight. Ravi Shankar, along with four other Mysuru-based geologists and their families, were holidaying after the elections. They visited Pinnaala and Kandy and were staying in a star resort.
As the news of bomb blast spread like wildfire, the tourists in panic called their relatives back home and stayed closed doors in the resorts. They have told that their group will reach Colombo and will take a flight to India. They have also informed their families that they are safe, but are scared as curfew is imposed in the country. BJP leader Mahesh said Ravi Shankar and four other geologists' families are safe and will return tonight.
names of Deceased
Kachanahalli Govindappa Hanumantharayappa, Kachanahalli Munibyrappa Lakshminarayana, Muniyappa Rangappa,Ramesh, Shettypalya Ramakrishnappa Nagaraj, Hanumaiah Shivakumar, Adakamaranahalli Maregowda, Harokyathanahalli Puttaraju 2 MORE NAMES in list, details not availableNarayan Chandrashekar, Remurai Tulsiram