Four Janata Dal (Secular) party workers were among the victims of the serial blasts that rocked Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.
In a tweet, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said, "I am deeply pained at the loss of our people in the #Colombo attacks. Out of the seven missing after the #TerrorAttack, four have been declared dead. Their names are - Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh - K M Lakshminarayan - M Rangappa - KG Hanumantharayappa"
Two of them have been identified by the Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka as K Hanumantarayappa and M Rangappa, both property developers.
They were part of a team of seven members, all JD(S) workers and developers, who were visiting Sri Lanka after the completion of the first round of polling in the state on April 18. The other members of the group are Kathanahalli Lakshminarayana, Taluk Panchayat member and developer, Chandrashekar, Contractor, Tumkur Ramesh, a developer, Govenahalli Shivanna, founder Harsha school and Harsha hospital, Puttaraju from Harokethanahalli and Maaregowda from Adakimaranahalli. They were staying at the Shangri-La hotel and are unreachable.
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Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also tweeted the names of three more Indian nationals, Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekar and Ramesh.
However, it is uncertain if these are members of the above group. Karnataka Home Minister MB Patil on Monday also said that official information had been recieved only about the deaths of Hanumantarayappa and Rangappa and that a total of 7 members were missing from the state.
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Speaking to TNIE, Shivakumar, a brother-in-law of Shivanna said, "Shivanna along with Chandrashekar, Ramesh, Maregowda and Puttaraju went to Colombo all together and checked into Shangri La hotel at 8 am. They were having breakfast when the blast took place and Rangappa and Hanumantharayappa were killed on the spot. Chandrashekar, Shivanna and Ramesh succumbed in the hospital. Maregowda and Puttaraj are still missing. They had to come back on Wednesday to Bengaluru as they went four days trip. Shivakumar's wife Sunanda is a member of Dobespet Zilla Panchayath"
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy tweeted, "I am deeply shocked at the loss of our JD (S) party workers, whom I know personally. We stand with their families in this hour of grief." Home Minister MB Patil is expected to hold a briefing shortly to announce the details of the missing and the dead.