He worked on Afghan road to build his own

‘‘He worked for the Government, and the Government did nothing to try and talk to the people who took him, nothing to free him,’’ lamented the old man. Semi-literate Raman Kutty does not understand international diplomacy or the perils of dealing with ruthless militia hardened by years of violence. What he and the villagers of Chingoli do, however, is apathy of the government: no responsible official has turned up at the dead man’s home, not even the local district collector.

‘‘So far, only a brigadier rang the family two days ago, that too to ask them not to talk too much to the media and warning them that it would spoil Maniyappan’s chance of a safe release,’’ says a villager who too works for BRO.

Maniyappan, a BRO employee now for 12 years, was a general duty logistics driver. His duties involved transferring workers, officials and material between the nodal points in the Nimroz sector for the Indo-Afghan friendship road project.

A close friend of Maniyappan and a BRO fellow worker, Ponnan Thomas, recalls Maniyappan as a family man. ‘‘His big dream was to earn money that would help him buy a strip of land to make a proper pathway to his little home. The house has no access of its own now,’’ he said.

State help might come the family’s way. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said in Thiruvananthapuram that the Kerala government would decided on the quantum of assistance it would provide to Maniyappan’s family. He said the Centre had responded positively to the state Government suggestion that a job be provided to Maniyappan’s unemployed widow at the NTPC power plant near their home, besides a Rs 10 lakh compensation. Maniyappan’s dream of a path to his house might yet be accomplished—but he would have paid a high price for it.