Subhash Batham, the accused, had held 23 children hostage for around 11 hours in the basement of his house. (Photo Credit: ANI/Twitter)
New Delhi:
The 11-hour-long hostage horror in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad finally ended at around 1 am in early hours of Friday after the team of police stormed the house and gunned down the captor. All 23 children were successfully rescued by the cops. The operation was headed by the IG Kanpur range and DM Kanpur. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for the rescue team. Subhash Batham, the accused, had held 23 children hostage for around 11 hours in the basement of his house.
Out on bail, he had already served a jail term for a 2001 murder case. Locals say that Batham was picked up by police four months ago over a case of theft. Since then, the man was angry with his neighbours. He used to think that the villagers had tipped-off the police about his location. He wanted to take revenge and had planned the entire hostage crisis.
It all began at around 2 pm on Thursday when Batham invited his neighbours to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. Around 4 pm, most of the children had reached his house. An hour later, Batham reached the terrace of his house and took all children hostage. At 5:30 pm, the villagers sent Batham’s friend to negotiate with him, who was injured in the firing. At 6 pm, the local police stepped in and tried talking to Batham. Batham attacked the police with a low-radiating hand grenade. By 7 pm, the top officials of UP Police were looped in. ATS and NSG were also contacted. It was after 9 pm that the rescue operation picked up pace.
Drones were used to take inside images of the house. In between, Batham released two children. One of them was just 10-month-old. At 1 am, the police broke down the gate and stormed the house. Batham was killed in firing. His wife was also injured during the rescue operation.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath monitored the situation in Farrukhabad, which is nearly 200 km from state capital Lucknow. "The CM as soon as he got to know about the incident called a meeting of crisis management group and personally monitored the situation and ensured children are rescued safely," Awasthi said. Latest reports say that Batham’s wife, who was injured in the firing, was also thrashed by the villagers. She has been admitted to a local hospital. Her condition is said to be serious.
