UNBEARABLE LOSS: Swapna who claims to be wife of the slain engineer Suryanarayana wails at the burial ground in Patel Nagar, Malkajgiri in Hyderabad on Tuesday. — PHOTO: K. Ramesh Babu.

HYDERABAD: The body of Kasula Suryanarayana, the engineer slain by the Taliban in Afghanistan recently, was consigned to flames with full State honours amidst moving scenes here at Malkajgiri on Tuesday.

As the engineer's family members cried inconsolably, scores of mourning locals - some raising slogans against the Taliban condemning the brutal killing - followed the funeral procession from his house at East Anandbagh to local Sardar Patel cremation grounds.

"Daddy come back, there is none to take care of us here," cried his daughters Anusha and Manisha even as their grandfather Chandrashekhar tried to console them. But he too could not suppress his emotions and wept silently. Cutting across party lines, several local politicians, workers of political parties and traders took part in the funeral march.

Funeral pyre

Everyone broke down as the engineer's six-year-old son Satya Teja lit the funeral pyre.

The engineer's widow Manjula, who allegedly attempted suicide by consuming Harpic acid on Monday, could not attend the funeral, as her condition was critical. She was shifted from a local private hospital to the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology with the intestines being badly affected by the acid.

Mild tension prevailed for a few minutes when Swapna, a woman from Warangal who surfaced yesterday claiming herself as Suryanarayana's wife, obstructed the procession near their house.

The woman, accompanied by a couple of relatives, staged a sit-in on the road demanding that she be allowed to attend the cremation and her nine-month-old daughter Natasha treated as engineer's daughter. After an impasse for over 10 minutes, the police personnel dragged them out.

Surayanarayana's father Chandrashekhar said he would sort out the matter later but pleaded not to obstruct the last rites.

Finally, Swapna was also allowed to come to the cremation grounds and pay homage to her `husband'.

Earlier, former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu and Secunderabad Cantonment MLA G. Sayanna called on the victim's family members.

Local revenue, municipal and police officials attended the cremation. Officials from the protocol wing of General Administration Directorate were also there.

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