BENGALURU: It was an emotional day for the families of those who lost their lives in the recent Sri Lanka bomb blasts, when friends and relatives came to pay their respects. The bodies of K M Lakshminarayana, K G Hanumantharayappa, H Shivakumar and M Rangappa were handed over to the families on Wednesday at around 5 am, while the bodies of H Puttaraju, Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh and A Maregowda were handed over at around 3.15 pm.
“I never thought they would meet such a tragic end. They had many dreams and wanted to work for the party. They had also done a lot of good work for the people in their village,” said a grieved family member.
Thousands of people gathered at the homes of the victims. Political leaders, including former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and chief minister Kumaraswamy, visited the residences, after which the bodies were laid to rest.
Venkatesh, Lakshminarayana’s brother, said, “We received the bodies at around 5 am at Kempegowda International Airport and kept them in front of their homes for two hours before shifting all four bodies to Government High School in Nelamangala.”
Thousands of people had gathered at the school premises to see their loved ones for the last time. Prakash L, Ramesh’s relative, said, “We received Ramesh’s body, along with those of Puttaraju and Maregowda, at around 3.15 pm. The last rites were performed in the evening.”
The workers had gone to Sri Lanka on holiday on April 20 after campaigning for the first phase of the elections in the state. All of them hailed from Nelamangala in Tumkur district, about 50 km away from Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Narayan Chandrashekar, another victim assumed to be from Karnataka, is still in Colombo.
Netas pay their respects
Apart from the chief minister and deputy chief minister, many other leaders, including Congress leaders Veerappa Moily, Krishna Byre Gowda and Ramalinga Reddy visited Nelamangala to pay their respects. BJP leaders Sadananda Gowda and Tejasvi Surya visited Nagaraj Reddy’s house and paid their condolences.
Cops step up vigil at tourist spots in Mysuru, Mandya
Mysuru: Mandya and Mysuru police have sounded alerts and beefed up security at major tourist spots in the region. As a precautionary measure, security has been beefed up at KRS Dam, Brindavan Gardens, Balamuri falls, Srirangaptna and other places. Authorities are also checking vehicles heading towards Brindavan Gardens and closely monitoring CCTV camera footage. Mandya SP Shivaprakash Devaraju said they have reviewed security in tourist spots. Security has been beefed up at St Philomena’s Church, bus and railway stations in Mysuru.