Indian engineer K Suryanarayana, abducted by the Taliban in Afghanistan two days ago, was killed by his kidnappers on Sunday, evoking a strong condemnation by New Delhi which termed it as a 'pre-meditated' and 'brutal' act of terrorism by the militia and 'its sponsors'.
The beheaded body of 41-year-old Suryanarayana was found by a police patrol Sunday morning in Hassan Karez area in southern Zabul province where he had been kidnapped on Friday evening along with his Afghan driver.
Taliban had, on Saturday, threatened to kill the engineer, who was working for a Bahrain-based company, if their demand that all Indians leave Afghanistan was not met by 7 pm Sunday.
The news of his killing was received with immense shock by his family in Hyderabad and his wife Manjula slumped while their three children wept inconsolably. Suryanarayana's mother Ananthalaxmi became hysterical on hearing the news.
President A P J Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the incident. Dr Singh said the killing of an innocent Indian civilian was an 'inhuman act'.
Confirming his death, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said the 'brutal' killing was a 'pre-meditated' act committed before the Indian team could reach there, which demonstrated that the Taliban were not interested in negotiations.
