The Infosys employee, Ankireddi Viswakanth, who is one of the victims of Sydney café siege, was a student of Sainik School Korurukonda in Vizianagaram district. His father Eswar Reddi is a farmer belonging to Sampat Nagar, SMS temple street in Old Guntur. He studied in Vizianagaram's school between 1990-199 4 from Standard 6 to 8.
Vishwakanth, who graduated from Birla Institute of Science and Technology (BITS), had moved to Sydney and was working there.
The registrar of Korukonda school, Lieutenant Colonel M Ashok Babu told Deccan Chronicle “as per the school records he was a meritorious student and active in studies and in sports. Though he is from agriculture family, he performed well in all events.”
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed higher authorities to talk to the Ministry of External Affairs.
"One of our employees is being held hostage at Sydney cafe," Infosys said in a statement.
We can confirm that one Infosys employee is among the hostages at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney:
Infosys statement
— ANI (@ANI_news) December 15, 2014
We are in constant touch with the local authorities and Indian Consulate in Sydney for updates on the situation on ground: Infosys statement
— ANI (@ANI_news) December 15, 2014
The family of the employee has been informed and we are extending all possible support to them in this difficult time: Infosys statement
— ANI (@ANI_news) December 15, 2014
We hope that this situation gets resolved peacefully & at the earliest. Our prayers are with the families of all involved: Infosys statement
— ANI (@ANI_news) December 15, 2014
"We can confirm that one Infosys employee is among the hostages at the Lindt Cafe in Sydney," the company said in a statement.
"The family of the employee has been informed and we are extending all possible support to them in this difficult time," it said. "We hope that this situation gets resolved peacefully and at the earliest," said the company.
The gunman has allegedly warned that four bombs have been planted around the city.
Australian police locked down the centre of the country's biggest city on Monday after an armed assailant walked into a downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack.
Police, including heavily armed paramilitary officers, cordoned off several blocks around the cafe as negotiators tried to defuse one of the biggest security scares in Australia for decades. Snipers and a SWAT team could be seen taking up positions around the cafe and police helicopters flew overhead.
At least five hostages have escaped since the mid-morning siege began. It was not clear how many more hostages remained in the cafe but it was not as high as the 30-40 that had been reported earlier, police said.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has warned of militant plans to strike Australian targets, said there were indications the hostage situation at the cafe was politically motivated.
"This is a very disturbing incident. I can understand the concerns and anxieties of the Australian people," Abbott told reporters in Canberra, without providing any information on the siege.
"We have moved to a footing that would be consistent with a terrorist event," Andrew Scipione, police commissioner for the state of New South Wales, told reporters in Sydney.
The cafe was directly opposite a commercial television studio and footage earlier showed several people inside the cafe standing with their hands pressed against the windows.
Pictures showed a black and white flag similar to those used by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria being held up by what appeared to be a staff member and another woman. Local media reports said the flag was the Shahada, a general expression of faith in Islam, a translation of which is: "There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."
The incident forced the evacuation of nearby buildings in Sydney's central business district and sent shockwaves around a country where many people have started to turn their attention to the approaching Christmas festive season following earlier security scares.
Dozens of heavily armed police surrounded the cafe in Martin Place after the siege began around 9:45 am local time. The area is home to the Reserve Bank of Australia, commercial banks and close to the New South Wales state parliament.
"I walked up to the door and then everyone was sitting down and the door's locked which is pretty weird because it's never locked and there was one guy walking around with a hat and a beard," a man who identified himself as Bruno, a worker at the cafe, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp, referring to the suspected assailant. He said he then turned away.
Several hours into the siege, police led about two dozen people out of a building opposite the cafe and through the cordon. Others were evacuated from the building above the cafe by ladder, television pictures showed.
Earlier, Lindt Australia Chief Executive Steve Loane told Sky Business there were about 10 staff working at the cafe and "probably 30 customers" although he said that figure was an estimate.