Man With Criminal Background Holds Over 20 Children, Women Hostage In UP; Rescue Ops Underway

The incident took place on Thursday evening in Farukkhabad when Subhash Batham, accused in a criminal case, invited about 20 local children to his house for a party and then locked them in.

Visual from the site of the hostage situation. (Image: ANI)

Farukkhabad: In a shocking incident, a man with a criminal background invited about 20 children and a few women to celebrate his 'birthday' and then held them hostage in Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, In Mohammadabad's Karthia village, a drunkard locked the children and women in his house. The incident took place on Thursday evening in Farukkhabad when Subhash Batham, accused in a criminal case, invited about 20 local children to his house for a party and then locked them in. When some local people tried to get the door opened, he started firing from inside in which one person injured his leg. Batham even hurled a low intensity bomb from the window of his house. He allegedly shouted that he had been wrongly framed in a criminal case. UP Director General of Police (DGP) O.P. Singh told reporters that the police were acting with caution to ensure the safety of the children locked inside.

#UPDATE: The person who is holding more than 15 children & a few women hostage at a house, opened fire at and threw a hand grenade at police. 3 police personnel & a villager injured. The person had invited the children to his house, on his daughter's birthday. Police operation on https://t.co/UijF0FRDrF

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 30, 2020

"A special team of trained personnel is at the spot and we have kept NSG commandos on standby. Our priority is to ensure the safety of the children and rescue them at the earliest. It is a difficult situation and all senior police officers are at the spot. We want to rescue the children without any collateral damage. The local legislator, Nagendra Singh, is also trying to talk to the man," news agency IANS quoted him as saying. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had called a high level meeting over the incident. Chief Secy, Principal Secy (Home), DGP, ADGP Law & Order were  present. Adityanath also talked to the DM & SP. The police have also called in Batham's relatives and local village leaders. A huge crowd has collected at the spot comprising mainly parents of the children who have been held hostage. Tension prevailed in the area and a heavy deployment of forces has been made in the village. (This is a developing story. Further details are awaited.)