Another victim to mindless terror in Afghanisthan

Monday May 1 2006

HYDERABAD: K Suryanarayana is the third Indian and first Telugu victim of mindless terror in war-torn Afghanistan.

The killing came within a month after Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited Hyderabad and called upon Indian and Andhra companies to invest in his country, which is in the process of rebuilding. He also assured complete safety of the Indians working in Afghanistan.

As many as 21 Indian government and private companies are engaged in rebuilding Afghanistan. Government estimates indicate that 1337 Indians are presently working in Afghanistan.

Suryanarayana was abducted by Taliban militia on Friday and his bullet-ridden and beheaded body was found on Sunday.

It was in December 2006 that an unknown splinter militant group kidnapped two Telugus working with Hyderabad-based Bollineni Seenaiah Construction Company. The two - P Murali and G Varadaiah - hailing from Nellore district were in the captivity of the militants for 15 days before being released unharmed.

However, the first Indian fell to the militant violence in Afghanistan was Ramankutty Maniappan, an employee of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), which was engaged in road laying work. Ramankutty was in the captivity of Taliban for three days before they beheaded him and dumping his body in Kandahar province.

In February this year, Indian engineer Bharath Kumar, working with a Turkish firm, was killed when the Talibans triggered a bomb in Farah province.

Suryanarayana, a native of Hyderabad, was with Al Moayyad, a Bahraini company which is into telecom and construction business in Afghanistan. The 40-year-old engineer was abducted along with his Afghan driver by Taliban militants on Friday evening. Taliban's claimed that they shot and beheaded him when he tried to escape. His body was found in southern Zabul province.

On its part, the state government announced Rs 5 lakh exgratia and employment to a member of the bereaved family. Al Moayyad, which is executing a project of Afghan telecom provider Roshan, announced Rs 20 lakh compensations besides offering to bear the complete education expenditure of his three children.

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