Efforts on to bring bodies of slain students: AP govt

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh government is making efforts to bring the bodies of two students who were found shot dead in an apartment inside Louisiana state university campus in the United States.
    
"We are in touch with the American Embassy over the matter. Kiran Kumar's father Allam Rajaiah has already left for the US. The Telugu Associations there met Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal too," Power Minister Shabbir Ali, who looks after Non-Resident Telugu Affairs, said here.
    
He said two officials from the Indian Embassy in Washington were also on their way to Louisiana to coordinate the efforts to bring back the bodies
    
The government would facilitate the travel to US if the relatives of the deceased desired so.
    
The two students -- Allam Kiran Kumar from Karimnagar district and Komma Chandrasekhar Reddy from Kadapa district -- were found dead inside the apartment last night in an apparent incident of home invasion.
    
While Rajaiah, a noted Telugu writer, left for America in the wee hours of Saturday, Reddy's family members were also likely to go to the US.
    
Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended on Gajulapalli, the native village of Kiran Kumar, who was pursuing Ph.D in Chemistry.
    
Kumar (29), whose wife is pregnant, was to return to India early next year after completing the Ph.D. He had called up home four days ago and informed his family members about his plans.     

Kumar went to the US five years ago to pursue higher studies and married Swapna in 2005. His mother and two sisters are also in America.
    
Shell-shocked neighbours and childhood friends of Kumar recall him as a hard working student who mingled with every one.
    
"His family members told us that he would return soon. Never did we imagine that such a tragedy would befall a lad from our village," said a neighbour of the Allams.
    
Kumar's father Rajaiah is a well-known figure in literary circles and is also a member of 'Viplava Rachayitala Sangham' (Revolutionary Writers Association).
    
For Chandrasekhar Reddy, it was a long and arduous journey from the backward district of Kadapa to the land of opportunities.
    
After completing B.Sc (Agriculture), Reddy migrated to US four years ago for a doctoral programme in biotechnology which he completed early this month, his brother Viswanatha Reddy said.
    
"He called up and spoke to our mother on Wednesday. He said he was getting good job offers and was planning to shift from Louisiana," Reddy's another brother Srinivasa Reddy said.
    
His father Sambasiva Reddy had undergone a bypass surgery recently and the news was not broken to him immediately.
    
Reddy married Kalpana, a Master in Computer Applications (MCA), from Mahaboobnagar just nine months ago.
    
Weeping inconsolably, Reddy's parents said he was planning to take them to America and was in the process of securing visa for them.     

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy spoke to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Indian Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen on Saturday seeking fool-proof security to Indian students in America.
    
Expressing shock and grief over the incident, Reddy said the entire country stood by the bereaved families.
    
He conveyed his condolences to the families and asked Chief Secretary J Harinarayana to look after various aspects of the issue and take appropriate measures.