Families of slain students shocked at US killing

HYDERABAD: Shock and disbelief gave way to intense grief as the families of the two Indian students from Andhra Pradesh grappled with the news of their murder in Louisiana University in the US.

The families of Allam Kiran Kumar and Komma Chandrasekhara Reddy, both Ph.D students hailing from Kadpa and Karimnagar districts respectively, were in deep mourning after they received the shocking news late on Friday.

Allam Rajaiah, a noted writer of Telangana region, has not been able to get over the shock of the news of his son Kiran Kumar’s murder. “I can’t believe that he is no more. He spoke to me only a few hours ago,” said Rajaiah, whose eldest of four sons had gone to the US in 2003 for higher education.

Rajaiah is leaving for Louisiana to bring back the body. Kiran Kumar’s relatives recall that he was of friendly nature and had no enemies. “Why should somebody kill a person like him who was friendly towards all,” asked his uncle Allam Narayan.

The plight of Chandrasekhara Reddy’s family is more pathetic. His father Sambashiva Reddy, a retired forest officer, was not informed of his son’s death as he had recently undergone heart surgery.