Wife of man, who held kids hostage, dies after assault
What's the story
The wife of Subhash Batham, who was killed after he held 23 children hostage in Uttar Pradesh's Farrukhabad on Thursday, died of injuries after being assaulted by locals.
The woman, identified as Ruby, was dragged from the house and thrashed by villagers after Batham died in the encounter.
She suffered critical injuries and was taken to a hospital.
Here are more details.
Backstory
Batham terrorized children at gunpoint after inviting them for birthday
Batham, a criminal who was booked in four cases, invited children to his house in Karthiya village to celebrate his daughter's birthday.
Thereafter, he locked them in and held them hostage at gunpoint. Ruby and their daughter too were inside the house.
When the kids didn't return home on time, locals went to Batham's house. Upon learning what happened, they alerted police.
Operation
Batham attacked cops, two were injured
What followed was a nearly 10-hour-long standoff between cops and Batham. He fired from inside the house, hurled stones, and even threw a crude bomb.
Two policemen and a villager were injured.
To deal with him, Anti-Terrorism Squad and another police party, headed by Kanpur Zone Inspector General, Mohit Agarwal, were deployed.
Batham claimed he had 30 kg of explosives with him.
Details
Cops sent biscuits for children, tried to talk with criminal
For police, the top priority was to rescue the children without any collateral damage. Biscuits were sent for the children, said Director General of Police OP Singh.
Police believe Batham was drunk during the entire episode. They also raised doubts about his mental stability.
After attempts to reason with the 38-year-old failed, cops barged into the house after midnight and he was killed.
Criminal
He was known for having a penchant towards violence
A couple of eye-witnesses said Batham was shouting that he was wrongly framed. He was an accused in a murder case of 2001 and was known for being prone to violence.
Some reports also said Batham was upset after being denied a house and toilet under the Central scheme for the poor.
A complaint in this regard was also sent to the district magistrate.
Death
Ruby succumbed to her injuries this morning
It's unclear whether Ruby was part of Batham's well-thought-through plan, but that didn't stop villagers from assaulting her.
After kids were safely evacuated, she was dragged out of the house and bricks and stones were thrown at her.
With injuries all over the body, Ruby was taken to a hospital where she succumbed to injuries this morning.
A post-mortem report is being awaited.
Quote
Report will reveal cause of death: Senior cop
"The woman (Batham's wife) has succumbed to injuries, we are waiting for post-mortem report, further details on the cause of death will only come out after the report," said Inspector General, Kanpur Range, Mohit Agarwal.