Warangal, July 08: B Kiran, the software engineer from Arepalli in Hanamkonda mandal, Warangal district, who was shot at by unidentified men in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday night succumbed to his wounds in a cruel reversal of fortunes. His parents, Shankaraiah and Indiramma, woke up to the tragic news this morning. ‘‘I can’t believe my son is dead,’’ Indiramma said.
‘‘We told him not to go abroad but to find a job in India. But Kiran would not listen to us,’’ rued Indiramma. Kiran’s parents had been under the impression that he was recuperating. They had been kept in the dark by Kiran’s friends, who knew that his condition was critical, for fear that they couldn’t bear it. Initial reports suggested that Kiran had a bullet injury on his chest. According to his friends and family, Kiran and his friend Sridhar, who is from Rajahmundry, returned home from shopping on that fateful evening. When they were about to enter their apartment, unidentified men, believed to be blacks, demanded money from them. But they confronted the thugs who pumped two bullets into Kiran’s stomach and also wounded Sridhar before fleeing with the laptops of both. The two wounded men were admitted to a hospital in Johannesburg where doctors could remove one bullet from Kiran’s body. Sridhar’s condition is said to be stable.
28-year-old Kiran, who had a master’s in computer science from Osmania University, went to South Africa two years ago with the help of a consultant to make a fast buck.
In South Africa, he had worked for a company called APSYCET. He came back two months ago after his contract with the firm expired. He flew back to join another company, details of which even his parents are not aware of. The State Government announced Rs five lakh ex gratia for the bereaved family.
–Agencies–