The family of Kasula Suryanarayana, the abducted Indian engineer, shattered by the devastating news of his killing by the Taliban in Afghanistan have been inconsolable. There is a pall of gloom over the family house in the middle-class locality Anandbagh in Malkajgiri town, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

His father, K Chandrasekhar, mother Ananthalakshmi, wife Manjula, daughters Anisha and Manisha and son Satya [Images] Teja have been traumatised from the moment they saw news flashes on television that Suryanarayana's body has been found on a road near Kandahar.

As his wife and ailing mother fainted at the news, relatives were consoling them and sharing their grief. Doctors were also called in as Manjula, under immense mental stress, suffered hypertension.

A large number of neighbors and media persons gathered outside their house but the family did not let anybody in, except close relatives, family friends and the TV cameramen. His father has become incommunicado and not in a frame of mind to interact with the media.

It was on Sunday morning that the family had called on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy at his camp office, seeking his help in securing the safe release of the abducted engineer. Soon after the family members returned to their house, they saw the news flashes on television that Suryanarayana was killed by the Taliban while allegedly trying to escape.

Even as State Minister for Information and Public Relations Mohammed Shabbir Ali and state and district officials visited the family, there was no reassuring news about the safety of Suryanarayana.

Suryanarayana, 41-year-old telecom engineer, had joined the Bahrain-based company Al Moayed in January this year and got posted in Afghanistan. Prior to this assignment, he worked with Tata Tele Services Limited in Hyderabad.

Suryanarayana's father is a retired deputy collector. His daughters --14-year-old Anisha and 9-year-old Manisha -- are studying in Class IX and VI respectively. His five-year-old son Satya Teja is an Upper Kindergarten student.