LUCKNOW: With no claimant for the bodies of Farrukhabad hostage-taker Subhash Batham and his wife Ruby, the UP police department has decided to adopt and take responsibility for their one-year-old daughter Gauri.
Batham had taken 23 children captive and herded them at gunpoint in the basement of his house for over 10 hours in Farrukhabad last week.
"We will ensure that the baby girl gets a good education and becomes an officer. The girl is just one year old and her name is Gauri,” IG Range (Kanpur) Mohit Agarwal told media persons on Monday.
The police decided to adopt the child when no family member turned up to claim her. “No relative either from Subhash’s side or Ruby's has turned up to claim their bodies. In case no one claims the bodies for a few more days, the last rites will be performed by the cops,” added the I-G.
The hostage drama began at Kathriya village under Mohammadabad police station in Farrukhabad district last Thursday. Batham, a murder convict and hardcore criminal, was killed by the cops who also safely rescued the 23 children.
Later, his wife Ruby was dragged out of the house by angry neighbours and lynched for her alleged complicity in the hostage drama. The couple had lured the children with toffees and invited them to their house on the pretext of the birthday of their daughter Gauri.
After the rescue operation, the police recovered a huge cache of explosives, firearms and material to make bombs from his house. During the confinement of children, Batham had handed over a letter in which he had alleged that he was not getting a toilet and house from the government even after repeated attempts.