Andhra techie shot dead in South Africa

A software engineer from Andhra Pradesh has been shot dead by unidentified assailants in South Africa, his family members said on Tuesday.

B Kiran, 28, who was injured in the attack on Thursday, died at a hospital in Johannesburg early Tuesday. His family members in Andhra Pradesh's Warangal district said a doctor hailing from the state told them over telephone that Kiran succumbed to the bullet injuries.

Kiran, who had been working in South Africa for the past two years, was hit by two bullets when unidentified people attacked him while he was returning from office Thursday.

A pall of gloom descended on Kiran's house in Arepalli village in Warangal, about 200 km from here.

Dozens of relatives and friends called on Kiran's bereaved parents at their house on hearing the news.

"We can't believe that our son is no more. We don't know who killed him and why," said Kiran's father B Shankaraiah.

He recalled that Kiran had come home on a vacation last month and returned to Johannesburg June 27.

"He studied and worked hard to come up in life. No parent should suffer this agony," said his wailing mother B Indira as top district officials visited the house to console the family and promised to arrange passports and visas for them to go to Johannesburg.

Kiran's brother B Satish told reporters that the South African police informed the family about the shooting incident late Monday. He said Kiran's friends had not contacted the family.

"They may be afraid of sharing any details as they could be probed by authorities there," he said.

The software engineer's family is still waiting for a call from the authorities in the Indian embassy in South Africa to know details of the attack.

Warangal District Superintendent of Police VC Sajjnar, who visited Kiran's house, said he was trying to get information from Indian authorities. He also promised to help the youth's family in obtaining passports and visas if they want to go to South Africa to bring back the body.