The parents of Vishwakant Ankireddy celebrate in Guntur after he was rescued following a 16-hour siege at a Sydney cafe.
The family of Vishwakant Ankireddy expressed joy on learning that he was rescued safely from a Sydney cafe when Australian police stormed it to end a hostage drama.
His parents were elated to see him on television channels coming out of the cafe.
Clad in a white shirt with hands raised, the techie was seen emerging from the cafe and escorted by two commandos.
His family spoke to Ankireddy's wife in Sydney who confirmed the news. She told them he spoke to her over telephone after being rescued.
"Thank God! This is a big relief for us," said his father Eshwar Reddy at his house in Guntur town, about 300 km from Hyderabad.
The software engineer's mother Sulochana was overjoyed. Relatives and friends gathered at their house to share the happy moment.
Ankireddy's father, a government employee, said that he had received a call from the company informing him about his son being taken hostage. He said he then talked to his daughter-in-law in who told him that the hostages had been allowed to have lunch.
He had also talked to the Australian police, Mr Reddy said, who "assured me that everything will be fine and there is nothing to worry."
Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu spoke to Mr Reddy and took up the matter with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who also spoke to Ankireddy's wife over phone.
Anikreddy was living in Australia for six years with his wife. The couple has a daughter.
After working for a project with the National Australian Bank in Melbourne, he moved about a year ago to Sydney to work as a senior project manager with another bank.
Eshwar Reddy said his son recently became an Australian citizen.
Hailing from Guntur, Anikreddy is an alumnus of BITS Pilani. He got married seven years ago.