UP hostage taker shot dead, all kids rescued
The police said the hostage taker had planned the event in advance.
Over 20 children, who had been held hostage by a man at his house in Uttar Pradesh’s Farukkhabad have been rescued and the hostage-taker, Subhash Batham, shot dead in the rescue operation, said a senior state official.
“Batham shot dead in the rescue operation,” said Mohit Agarwal, IG Kanpur. Additional chief secretary, (Home), Avanish Awasthi confirmed the killing and added that “all children have been rescued”.
Batham allegedly invited the children over to his place on Thursday evening on the pretext of a birthday party and then held them hostage. When some local people tried to open the door, he started firing from inside injuring three policemen and a villager. Batham even hurled a low-intensity bomb from the window.
He told negotiators that he had 30 kg of explosives with him.
Police said Batham had sent out a typed complaint addressed to the district magistrate that alleged that he had been denied a house and a toilet under the Central housing scheme for poor. His letter indicated that he had planned the act well in advance, said the police.
Top state police officers including IG Kanpur range had been monitoring the hostage crisis and a team of commandoes had also been summoned.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had also convened an emergency meeting at his official residence to take stock of the situation.
The villagers said 20-25 children had been held hostage.
Recommended Topics