KANDAHAR/NEW DELHI, 24 November 2005 — Afghan police yesterday found the decapitated body of an Indian man whom Taleban insurgents said they had kidnapped and executed, a provincial official said.

The body of the engineer, who had been working on a road project, was found on a dirt road in the southern province of Nimroz, said Mohammad Hashim, a district chief in the province.

“Police have found the body of the Indian national and I can confirm that he has been killed,” Hashim said.

The young man had been beheaded, according to Amanullah Khan, chief of highway police in the province.

The head had been placed with the body and a note found, apparently written in English Khan said.

Strongly condemning Kutty’s murder, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement: “I condemn this cowardly killing and brutal murder of a brave Indian who was working in the cause of peace and development far from his home and country, which reflects the cruel and inhuman character of the Taleban and the forces they represent.”

Singh also stated that he had directed ministries of external affairs and defense to extend all help and assistance to the bereaved family.

Expressing condolences on Kutty’s killing, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai called Singh and assured him that security of Indians in Afghanistan would be increased.

Karzai also told Singh that Afghanistan valued India’s assistance in its reconstruction. Thanking him for the telephonic call, Singh told Karzai that India’s resolve to assist Afghanistan remained unshaken.

Kutty, from India’s state-run Border Roads Organization, was abducted from his car along with an Afghan driver and two guards in Nimroz on Saturday.

A Taleban spokesman, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said on Tuesday Kutty had been killed after a deadline passed for his company to announce its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Kutty’s driver was released but the Taleban spokesman said the fate of the two guards had yet to be decided.

Expressing “deep shock and profound grief” at Kutty’s tragic death, the ministry of external affairs said in a statement: “His untimely death is a loss to the Border Roads Organization and to the country, which salutes the ultimate sacrifice he has made to the cause of India-Afghan friendship.”

Extending heartfelt condolences to Kutty’s family members, the ministry said: “The family will receive a total of Rs. 10 lakhs as compensation and benefits, with free education to the secondary level for Kutty’s two children.”

Though the Indian government had made “every effort possible” to seek Kutty’s “safe release in cooperation with Afghan authorities,” the statement said: “Unfortunately, these did not prove of much avail.”

Shocked by the news of Kutty’s death, his uncle, Krishnankutty said in Chingoli (Kerala): “We were eagerly waiting for the homecoming, which was never to be.” Kutty’s family, for whom he was the sole breadwinner, was devastated by the news of his death. They include his aged parents — Ramankutty (70) and Mani (60), wife Bindu and two children.

Kutty’s killing comes amid a spate of insurgent violence.

Yesterday, three Afghan policemen were killed in a Taleban ambush in the central province of Uruzgan, provincial governor Jan Mohammad Khan said. The Taleban accepted responsibility.

A day earlier, a US soldier and an Afghan interpreter were killed when a roadside bomb struck their armored vehicle in the same province during an anti-militant operation by US-led troops.

-— With input from agencies