PM condemns Kutty's murder by Taliban

There was no gentle way of breaking the news. The body of 36-year-old Maniappan Raman Kutty, a driver with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), was found dumped by the roadside in the Delaram district of Nimroze province, Governor of Khashroad, Mohd Hashim Noorzai, was quoted as saying by international news agencies in Kandahar.

"He has been slaughtered. His throat has been cut," Noorzai said, a statement that devastated Kutty's family in Allapuzha, Kerala, where his parents, wife and two children were in shock, especially since yesterday Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had told them that reports of Kutty's abduction were incorrect.

Taliban last evening called up news agencies in Kandahar to say that Kutty, who was abducted on Saturday, had been killed by them as the BRO did not comply with its demand to pull out of Afghanistan.

Condemning the "cowardly and brutal murder of a brave Indian", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the act reflected the "cruel and inhuman character of the Taliban and the forces they represent". "I am deeply grieved and outraged by the news just received," he said. But these will be empty words for Kutty's family.

The Border Security Force said the incident would not deter them from carrying out their duty in Afghanistan where the organisation is building a road.

"At the moment the work on the highway is still on," a top defence ministry official said indicating that a "reappraisal of security arrangements for over 300 BRO personnel working on the project was being worked out".

BRO Director-General Lt Gen KS Rao may go to Afghanistan to review security the official said adding that work on "isolated points" on the highway which would link Delaram on the Makran coast in Iran with the Afghan heartland of Kandahar via Herat had only been temporarily suspended pending a security reappraisal.

The official said the formation cutting of the highway of the project estimated to cost Rs 380 crore had been completed and work was in progress for surface laying.

The official said a decision on flying back Kutty's body would be taken by tomorrow depending upon on its condition. Kutty had been working with BRO for 12 years and had shifted to the Afghanistan project only on 9 November, he said.

The official said around 1 pm on November 19, Kutty along with three others was going from Gurguri to Minar in Nimroz province when their van was intercepted. When they did not reach Nimroz by 5 pm, security patrols were sent to trace them.

An Afghan driver was released and the fate of two others travelling in the van is still not known, he said.

The region where the BRO is building the road is a playground of warlords and local warlords had been providing security to Indians. Apparently this was not enough. Rs 10 lakh as compensation has been offered to the family along with offers of jobs.

The Prime Minister has called Kutty called a "soldier who gave his life for peace". Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has condemned the killing and offered all possible assistance to Indian organisations working there.