Guntur lad among Sidney Cafe hostages

A techie belongs to Guntur in Andhra Pradesh said to be among the hostages by a gunman in a cafe in Australia.

According to reports, Viswakanth Ankireddy, working with Infosys company, could be among the Sydney hostages. He hails from Gangireddy village of Piduguralla mandal.
However, it is yet to be confirmed by Central government.

"We can confirm that one Infosys employee is among the hostages at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney. We are also in the process of confirming the whereabouts of all our other employees in the city," Infosys said in statements issued in Bangalore and Chennai.

"We are in constant touch with the local authorities and Indian Consulate in Sydney for updates on the situation on ground."
It added that the family of the employee has been informed and "we are extending all possible support to them in this difficult time".
"We hope that this situation gets resolved peacefully and at the earliest. Our prayers are with the families of all involved."

"We don't want to discuss it because there is some information that one of our IT persons is also there. So the External Affairs Ministry is keeping in touch with concerned people there-- both our embassy as well as our counterpart also," Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu told reporters outside Parliament House.
Later, Naidu added that there were no confirmed reports and that it was only preliminary information. "There is some initial information that some people were taken hostage in Sydney by some person. What is the purpose, what is the motive (is) not known and our External Affairs Ministry is keeping in touch with our embassy there in Australia. So far information says that people who were held hostages are safe, no harm is done to them. All these information here and there-- nothing has been confirmed about any citizens of our country is in that or not. It is a sensitive matter. I request all people to show restraint till the issue is resolved," he said.

The armed man claimed that he has planted bombs in the cafe and at different locations in the city.
Three men and two women, who escaped from the Lindt Chocolate Cafe, told media that the man had warned them that two bombs were set to explode in the cafe, and other bombs were planted at two locations in the city, Xinhua reported.
-With IANS inputs