Out on bail, man holds 12-20 kids hostage

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, January 30

An accused, out on bail in a murder case, has held 12-20 children hostage in his house in Kasaria village, Farukhabad, UP. Subhash Batham reportedly invited the children to celebrate his birthday and then locked them in. When parents and others tried to get the door opened, he opened fire, injuring one person in the leg.

Later, two police officers were injured too. Batham even threw a low-intensity grenade from the window.

Hours later, he released a six-month-old girl by handing her over to his neighbour from a balcony. UP DGP OP Singh summoned the Anti-Terrorist Squad.

Claiming that he had been wrongly framed in the murder case, the man fired at the terrified parents, warning: “You all will pay for putting me in jail.” Locals said he was an alcoholic and drug addict.

The DGP said the police were acting with utmost caution to ensure the safety of children. “A special team of trained personnel is on the spot and we have kept NSG commandos on standby. We want to rescue the children without any collateral damage,” he said.

A top home department official asked electronic media not to show rescue operation live.

IGP (Kanpur Range) Mohit Agarwal said Batham appeared to be mentally unstable. Batham wanted to talk to the local MLA, but later refused, he added.