UP man who took 23 children hostage read a similar case in Russia: Cops

Lucknow : A UP man who had held 23 children hostage is believed to have prepared for the act from months, it has been learned that he was inspired by one of the similar cases in Russia, cops said on Saturday.

Subhash Batham had taken the children, hostage, after inviting them to attend the birthday celebration of his kid at his residence.

The children were freed after police barged into the house late on Thursday night and shot Batham dead.

"It seems Batham had planned it for a month," Inspector General of Police, Kanpur Range, Mohit Agarwal, told reporters, adding that his mobile phone has been seized.

A media report claims that his wife, who was stoned to death by neighbours, was involved in the whole incident and had demanded Rs 1 crore to free the kids.

Police have analysed Batham's phone and it has been found that he was "planning it for a long time, searching and downloading bomb-making techniques", the officer said.

"He had studied in detail a similar case in 2004 in Russia where children were held hostage, besides some other similar cases," the senior police officer said.

The 40-year-old man is an old culprit and was jailed for 10 years. He was out on bail and committed the crime.

"He was in jail four months ago for robbery. It seems that he had planned this (the hostage-taking) there, learning the fine details from other inmates. He collected arms and explosives with their help," he said.