Kidnapped Indian engineer killed by Taliban

April 30, 2006

Indian embassy officials in Afghanistan confirmed today that the body of the abducted Indian engineer K. Suryanarayana had been found in Kandahar. The Taliban abducted Suryanarayana at gunpoint on Friday.

His abductors had stated that if all Indian citizens in Afghanistan did not leave that country by 7 p.m. IST (1330 UTC) today, Suryanarayana, who they claimed was an "American spy", would be killed. Suryanarayana was apparently killed while he was trying to escape a few hours ago. The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has condemned the beheading, calling it an "inhuman act". Indian security forces are enroute to Afghanistan to investigate the matter and the Indian Foreign Secretary Mr. Shyam Saran has said that India will do whatever it takes to bring the perpetrators of this brutal murder to justice. Suryanarayana leaves behind his wife and three children.