The family members of the seven Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) activists have not received any call from them since the serial blasts in Colombo on Easter Sunday, a relative said on Monday.
"My brother N Puttaraju called me on Sunday morning and said he landed in Colombo along with six others safely and were in a hotel (Shangri La). There was no call again from him after the blasts," Rudresh told IANS from Nelamangala, 40km northwest of Bengaluru.
Of the seven party activists, five have been confirmed dead and two are still missing. Over 290 people were killed and over 500 were injured in the serial blasts in Colombo and other cities in Sri Lanka.
Puttaraju and A Maregowda are missing while the deceased have been identified as Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh, KM Lakshminarayan, M Rangappa, KG Hanumantharayappa and Narayan Chandra.
Rudresh and the six party activists from Tumkur district, about 70km northwest Bengaluru, had flown to the island nation on Saturday on a four-day holiday trip for sigh-seeing in Colombo and Kandy. They were booked to fly back on April 24.
"When we heard the news and saw the visuals of the blasts in churches and hotels in Colombo on Sunday morning, I tried to reach my brother. But there was no response from his mobile. Relative of others also had the same reply," Rudresh recalled.
As there was no call from any of the activists or information on their whereabouts, Rudresh called the ruling party office in Bengaluru to find out if his brother and friends were safe in the aftermath of the deadly terror attacks.
The party office too did not have any information but assured that they will get back soon. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is from the JD-S, has directed his office to contact the Indian High Commission through the External Affairs Ministry for updates.
Though Kumaraswamy was busy campaigning for the party's candidates in the state's northern region for polling on Tuesday, he asked state Chief Secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar to find out from the hotel where the activists checked in in the wee hours of Sunday and were to go out after breakfast.
"We came to know on Sunday night that four-five Indians died in the blasts but had no clue about the fate of my brother and his friends. We learnt on Monday morning from our party office that some activists were among the victims," said Rudresh.
While Rudresh is hopeful of Puttaraju being alive and safe, the party and the state government have asked the High Commission to ascertain if he and Marigowda were in any of the hospitals for treatment.
All the relatives of the activists met the party leaders and plan to meet Kumaraswamy and party supremo HD Deve Gowda in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
