New Delhi: Five days after his abduction by Taliban on Saturday, the body of 36-year-old Maniappan Raman Kutty, a driver with Border Roads Organisation (BRO), was found dumped by the roadside in Delaram district of Nimroze province in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday.
His throat had been slashed.
The Taliban has claimed responsibilty for the barbaric act, stating that they had killed Kutty in retaliation to the BRO refusal to meet their 48 hour deadline to pull out of the country.
Conflicting reports
For the last five days there had been conflicting reports regarding Kutty's whereabouts and wellbeing.
On Tuesday the Taliban claimed, in a sattelite phone conversation with an international news agency, that they had killed Kutty.
But the Indian government refused to confirm or deny this.
On Wednesday, in another conversation with a separate news agency, the Taliban revealed the whereabouts of Kutty's body. This matched details released by the Kandahar police chief.
Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy confirmed Kutty's death on Wednesday afternoon and said that his body would be brought back to India on Thursday on an Air India flight.
Government circles still debating whether to bring back Kutty's body to India as it is badly mutilated.
A nation reacts
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has condemned Kutty's death calling it the ?brutal murder of a brave Indian.' He said "the act reflected the cruel and inhuman character of the Taliban and the forces they represent."
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Terming Kutty's death ?the ultimate sacrifice? for the cause of Indo-Afghan friendship, the External Affairs Ministry said: "The Taliban and its backers bear the responsibility for the consequences of this outrageous act. We earnestly hope that the perpetrators would be brought to justice swiftly."
However, the ministry said that the government had made every possible effort to seek his safe release in cooperation with Afghan authorities. It had also worked with its own network of contacts in Afghanistan to this end.
"Unfortunately, these did not prove of much avail," the statement said.
To litte too late
The government has announced that Kutty's family will receive Rs 10 lakh as compensation and benefits with free education up to the secondary level for Kutty's two children.
The government has also assured that no stone would be left unturned to ensure his family's livelihood and security.
The Border Roads Organisation is engaged in building a road in Afghanistan for the development and welfare of its people, the ministry said, adding, "It is inconceivable that anybody should be opposed to it and threaten those working on it."
Cabinet Secretary B K Chaturvedi says he has reviewed the security arrangements with concerned ministries and agencies to ensure the safety of all Indian nationals who are working in Afghanistan.
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