2 JD-S members among Indians killed in SL blasts

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday said that two Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) members were among the five Indians who were killed along with 285 others in the deadly Easter Sunday suicide bombings in Sri Lanka.

"I am shocked to hear that a seven-member team of JD-S workers from Karnataka, who were touring Colombo, has gone missing after the bomb blasts. Two of them are feared killed in the terror strike. I am in constant touch with the Indian High Commission on the reports of those missing," Kumaraswamy said in a series of tweets.

"External Affairs Minister @SushmaSwaraj has confirmed the death of two Kannadigas, K.G. Hanumantharayappa and M. Rangappa, in the bomb blasts... 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."

On Monday morning, the Indian High Commission in Colombo confirmed the names of Hanumantharayappa and Rangappa. The tweet came after Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday night had confirmed the names of three other Indian nationals -- Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh.

It was not immediately clear if the other three were also JD-S members.

--IANS

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