BENGALURU: When they heard about the blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, businessman Nagaraj Reddy’s family anxiously waited here for news of him. They were hoping that he was safe. However, as the day progressed and news of the severity of the blasts started trickling in, their anxiety mounted as they were unable to get in touch with him. On Monday afternoon, their wait ended in a shock as they were told of his death when another relative identified his body in Colombo.
A businessman from BTM layout in Bengaluru, Nagaraj (53), was in Sri Lanka on a trip to receive an honorary doctorate from a University in Colombo. He was having breakfast at a restaurant with his relative Purushotham Reddy when the blasts shattered their lives. Purushotham is recovering in a hospital and will most likely return to Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Talking about the nightmare of tracking down any news of Nagaraj, a relative said, “On Sunday, we got information that Purushotham was injured. But we did not know Nagaraj’s whereabouts till Monday afternoon. Both the hotel and the Indian Embassy could not trace him. He died on the spot while having breakfast.”
He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. The family, earlier involved in the real estate business in Bengaluru, had later invested abroad in the infrastructure sector. According to sources, Nagaraj owned a mall in Turkey and had also invested in a local football team as well as an IT park in Dubai. He is a close relative of Yelahanka MLA SR Vishwanath who along with others from the family, left for Sri Lanka on Monday and will reach on Tuesday morning.
“Fellow Indians staying with them had suggested going out for breakfast but they stayed back. Two members who went out for breakfast are likely safe,” the relative said adding that the family currently was trying to stay away from the media glare as a lot of confusion had prevailed over the last two days. “Conflicting reports over the condition of Nagaraj and Purushotham have caused a lot of anxiety for the family,” the relative said.
“Fate had something else in mind for him. He was a noted businessman and had interests in many countries,” the relative said.