Man takes 22 children hostage at daughter's birthday party

AGRA: An armed man with a criminal background, Subhash Batham, held at least 22 children hostage at his daughter’s birthday party who was later killed in police action in a village located in India’s Uttar Pradesh.

Subhash Batham, an accused in a murder case who was out on bail, held at least 22 children hostage after inviting them to his house for a birthday party of his daughter in Kathariya village in Uttar Pradesh’s Farukkhabad.

One person was injured in his leg by a gunshot when some of the residents tried to open the door. Later, Batham had also hurled a crude bomb and fired gunshots on villagers and policemen rushed to rescue the children.

Some reports said Batham held the children hostages, who were aged between six months and 15 years, for being wrongly framed in a murder case and wanted to pressurise the authorities for dropping the criminal charges against him.

A local police officer told media that security personnel took the action with extreme caution in order to ensure the safety of the children locked inside the house.

After the overnight stand-off, a special team of trained policemen and commandos killed him in a shoot-out, while two officers were also wounded in the operation.

The hostages were rescued by the security team without any injury.

According to the reports, Batham’s wife was also killed on Thursday night, after villagers reportedly beat her to death and threw stones at her when she attempted to run away from the scene.