LUCKNOW: All twenty-three children aged between six months and 15 years, who had been taken hostage by a murder accused after inviting them to his daughter's birthday party, were rescued late on Thursday night after police killed the captor in a village here.
The hostage drama began at Kasaria village in the afternoon. Hours later, the accused released a six-month-old girl by handing her over to his neighbour from a balcony, they said. Accused Subhash Batham fired from inside the house on those who tried to speak to him, police said, adding that a man suffered a bullet injury.
The man who had held the children hostage was killed, Additional Chief Secretary Avanish Awasthi told PTI. Earlier, a team of NSG (National Security Guard) commandos had taken a special aircraft to reach Farukhabad, a senior security official in Delhi said.
Police said Batham handed over the girl to his neighbour from a balcony. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath monitored the situation in Farrukhabad, which is nearly 200 km from state capital Lucknow. The motive of the accused was not known immediately.
Television channels appealed to Batham to contact them in case he wanted to share his demands with the government or authorities. "We are ensuring the safe rescue of the children and if needed, the NSG will also be called for the operation," the DGP said earlier. Police said Batham, a murder accused, seemed to be mentally unstable.
IG (Kanpur Range) Mohit Agarwal, said, "The man called the children for a birthday party and held them hostage in the basement of the house. He fired six shots from inside the building." He said that Batham fired on those who attempted to speak to him. "Batham wanted to talk to the local MLA, but he refused to speak to the leader when he arrived," Agarwal said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has announced an award of Rs 10 lakhs for the police team that successfully carried out the operation. "All personnel who took part in operation will be given certificate of appreciation," said Principal Secretary (Home), Awanish K Awasthi.
(With ANI inputs)