Murdered Keralite’s body found in Afghanistan - Newindpress.com

Murdered Keralite’s body found in Afghanistan
Thursday November 24 2005 00:00 IST, AFP

NEW DELHI: Afghan police has on Wednesday found the decapitated body of Keralite who was kidnapped and executed by Taliban on Tuesday. "The body of the Border Roads Organisation's driver Maniappan Raman Kutty, who had been working on a road project, was found on a dirt road in the southern province of Nimroz. We strongly condemn this inhuman and barbaric act against an innocent person," the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

"The Taliban and its backers bear the responsibility for the consequences of this outrageous act," the Ministry said. The young man had been beheaded, according to Amanullah Khan, chief of highway police in the province. The head was placed with the body and a note, apparently written in English was also found, Khan said. The body of Kutty is expected to arrive in the capital by Thursday afternoon.

Kutty was abducted from his car along with an Afghan driver and two guards in Nimroz on Saturday. The fate of two Afghan guards abducted along with Kutty still hangs on balance.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling Kutty a "soldier of peace", has condemned the murder. "I condemn this cowardly and brutal murder of a brave Indian, who was working in the cause of peace and development far from his home country, which reflects the cruel and inhuman character of the Taliban and the forces they represent," Singh said.

In a condolence message to the bereaved family Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that his heart goes out to the family members of Kutty in their hour of grief and assured that all assistance will be provided to his wife and children.

The Government has decided to provide liberalized pension for life to the wife of Kutty that will be as per his last pay drawn in India. She will also be given a lump sum compensation of about seven lakh rupees besides any other ex-gratia grant to be sanctioned by the Government. The education of the two children till Secondary level will also be taken care of by the Government.

Kutty was working with the Border Roads Organisation for the last over 12 years and had joined the road project in Afghanistan on the 9th of this month.

PTI adds: A note written in English was found pinned to the body of M R Kutty, the Indian driver who was killed by Taliban in Afghanistan following his abduction.

‘‘We found a peace of paper written in English pinned to the body. We have the paper. It’s in English so we cannot read it now,’’ Mohammed Hashim Noorzai, a District Governor in Afghanistan’s volatile south-western province of Nimroz, was quoted as saying by AFP.

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