5 JD(S) workers from Karnataka killed in Sri Lanka bombings

BENGALURU: Five workers of the Janata Dal (Secular), who were holidaying in Sri Lanka after the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in the country — and the first phase in the state — on April 18 were killed in the bomb explosions that rocked the island nation on Easter Sunday.

Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who condoled the deaths, said he knew the victims. “All the victims were JD(S) workers from Karnataka and were on a tour to Sri Lanka. I am deeply pained at the loss of their lives in the heinous attack. They were also committed workers of our party and their death has brought immense sorrow to us,” he said.

In a series of tweets, he also confirmed the names of those who lost their lives. He said the external affairs ministry had confirmed the deaths of Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh, KM Lakshminarayan, M Rangappa and KG Hanumantharayappa, most of them residents of Nelamangala on the outskirts of Bengaluru. “I am with their families and pray to the almighty to give strength for the families and near and dear ones to bear this grief,” Kumaraswamy said in another tweet.


In his latest tweet, Kumaraswamy confirmed the death of a fifth person. Television reports identified the victim as A Maregowda. Two more people from Karnataka, the chief minister said, are missing. They are: H Shivakumar and H Puttaraju. “The chief secretary’s office is in constant touch with the resident commissioner at Karnataka Bhavan, New Delhi, and the families of the victims and the missing persons for further information on them,” the chief minister said.

On Sunday, a series of bomb explosions ripped through three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, claiming the lives of about 300 people and wounding over 500. In all, nine Indian nationals were killed.