BRO driver cremated with state honours
by K Ashik/Ashok Dixit

     Alappuzha/New Delhi: The body of Maniappan R Kutty, the Kerala-born Border Roads Organisation (BRO) driver who was killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, was cremated at his native place Harippad in the state's Alapuzha District today with full state honours, even as the Government of India reiterated once again that it had spared no effort in trying to save his life. Before the body was brought to Harippad from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala's Chief Minister Oommen Chandy received Kutty's body, which was brought in state in an Indian Airlines flight to Thiruvananthapuram Airport on Friday afternoon and given a ceremonial due to martyrs who had died in harness.

     In Delhi, External Ministry sources recapitulating the events of the past few days in connection with the tragic incident, said that it was clear by the second day after the kidnapping, that the kidnappers did not want to negotiate the release of their hostages and wanted to kill Kutty. They said there was no ransom demand, which was far different to a similar hostage situation in Afghanistan in 2003. The sources sought to emphasise that the government was not lacking in its efforts to have Kutty released from his Taliban captors. They told reporters that the first information about Kutty's kidnapping surfaced on the evening of November 19 when a call was made to say that Kutty, an Afghan driver and two Afghan security personnel were in the custody of kidnappers, who refused to identify themselves. Official sources said that India's Ambasador to Kabul, Rakesh Sood, was informed of the call within 30 minutes, on which basis, he contacted Afghanistan's National Security Adviser to inform him of the incident.

     India simultaneously activated its own channels of intelligence to gather as much information as possible about the whereabouts of Kutty and the other captives. This included contacting key diplomatic officials and the Governor of Afghanistan's Nimroz province, where the captives were said to have been held. Indian Government sources said that there was no knee-jerk reaction. It was an immediate reaction, and added that at that point in time it was not known whether the Taliban were involved. They said that search parties were despatched along the route of the Zarang-Delaram Highway to look out for the kidnappers and the kidnapped on November 20, but the search was unsuccessful. Constant communication was maintained with the Afghan Government, and it was only after 4 p.m. on that day that a Reuters reporter in Kandahar said that he had received a call from the Taliban, who gave an ultimatum for suspending the BRO construction work on the Zarang-Delaram Highway, failing which the Indian driver would be killed in 48 hours. This was conveyed to the Indian embassy in Kabul, and Ambassador Sood immediately got in touch with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and briefed him about the alarming situation.

    A short while later, the kidnapped Afghan driver was released in Minar, about 10 km from the Delaram Highway and he gave additional details. According to the sources, he told the Afghan and Indian authorities in Kabul that four armed men bore down on the unsuspecting BRO vehicle in black Corolla, surrounded it and took Kutty and the three others captive. Kutty was whisked away in a separate vehicle, the Afghan driver said. Ambassador Sood then contacted the U.S.envoy in Kabul and asked him to use his influence to get Kutty released. MEA sources said that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was briefed about the incident and the emerging situation on November 21 morning. he directed the officials concerned to make all efforts to ensure the safe and early release of Kutty. Directions were also given to Cabinet Secretary B.K.Chaturvedi to set up a group to monitor the situation regularly. It was also decided to keep one expert on hostage negotiation on standby and to instruct the BRO officials to get in touch with Kutty's family to provide the necessary support and solace. Meetings were held at intervals, both in New Delhi and Kabul, and this included contacting key tribal leaders to see whether they could use their good offices to have Kutty released safely. Ambassador Sood remained in contact with President Karzai, who held a meeting of his Cabinet and set up a task force to monitor the situation at his end. Provincial authorities were mobilised, additional security measures were put in place for the Indian staff in Afghanistan and contacts were established with the Italian and Iranian envoys to see whether they could anything. Foreign Secretary Saran met Iran's Ambassador in Delhi, but at the end of day three since the kidnapping, no contact had been established.

     On November 23, the killing of Kutty was finally confirmed after India used all informal and formal channels of communication and contact. Meetings of the monitoring committee were held in Delhi, and it was decided to retrieve Kutty's body and send the BRO Director- General to Kabul to review security as well as restore the morale of the BRO staff in the wake of the tragedy. It was also decided to enhance the number of ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) personnel at Indian camps Asked whether the work on the Zarang-Delaram Highway had been suspended, the MEA sources replied in the negative. They, however, refused to comment on the view that Pakistan had a hand in the kidnapping, but added that it was already an established fact that the Taliban had its backers both within and without Afghanistan. When asked whether the BRO staff in Afghanistan would now be risk free in the wake of the security measures being taken, the MEA sources said risks would always remain and it was unrealistic to expect or imagine that it would ever be eliminated. They also said that now plans were in the pipeline to consult the Afghanistan Government to faciliate mobile as well as stationary security movement of the ITBP to ensure the safety of the nearly 900 Indians in Afghanistan,including 291 BRO personnel. On Thursday night, Kutty's body arrived at New Delhi's Palam Airport from Kabul and was kept at the Army Base Hospital with full state honours befitting a martyr. Soldiers of the Indian army reversed arms and saluted the coffin in which his body was kept, first at the airport and then at the hospital. Floral wreaths were placed on the coffin on behalf of all key dignitaries, including the Prime Minister, several cabinet ministers, army and BRO officials etc., an official
press release said.