Simon was killed for being Christian: Wife

An Indian worker kidnapped by Taliban militants on October last year has been killed, reported media.

Simon Paramananthan, 38, worked with an Italian company in Afghanistan's Herat province and was abducted along with his Afghan interpreter and driver on Oct 13. The abductors had demanded a ransom of $50,000.

A press statement from the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in Chennai said: "...the abducted Indian national Simon Paramananthan died in custody of his abductors... His family in India has been informed."

Vasanti Paramananthan, the victim's 35-year-old widow, told media that, her husband was murdered on two counts - the first being non-payment of a ransom of $50,000 and the second that he was a born-again Christian.

"We have been informed by officials in Afghanistan that my husband was murdered yesterday (Sunday) night. Simon's employers kept on delaying the negotiation process and now he is dead," Vasanti told IANS.

Vasanti hoped that the Tamil Nadu government would provide her with some financial relief.

Paramananthan's abductors had identified themselves as members of a group called 'Mujahideen'.