Daughter of hostage accused to be adopted by cop

In a heart- warming gesture, the Farukkhabad police have decided to adopt the one-year-old daughter of the man who held 23 children hostage on January 30 and was subsequently killed in a police encounter.

After the hostage accused Subhash Batham was killed, his wife Ruby was also lynched by the villagers.

Kanpur range Inspector General Mohit Agarwal said that the one-year-old girl, Gauri, who has been orphaned in the incident, would now be taken care of by the cops.

Sources said that the IG would formally adopt the girl after completing the formalities.

"We will bear Gauri's educational and all other expenses till she becomes self-reliant. I want her to grow up and become an IPS officer. After all legal formalities, she will be adopted and we will send her to a good boarding school. I will keep her under my own supervision," he said.

Gauri is presently under treatment at a hospital in Farukkhabad and is being looked after by women constables.

Subhash and Ruby had married against their families' wishes and, therefore, neither of the families has come forward to take custody of the child.

It may be recalled that Gauri's father Subhash Batham had taken 23 children hostage in Katheria village of Farukkhabad and was shot dead during the police operation on Thursday.

Subhash had invited the children on the pretext of celebrating Gauri's birthday and held them hostage in the basement of his house.

Her mother Ruby, too, was killed after she was assaulted by angry villagers. Cops found Gauri in the house after her father was gunned down.

Subhash had served a 12-year sentence in a 2002 murder case and was facing four more criminal cases. He was recently in jail in a theft case and was released on bail one and half months ago. Police say that he had plotted the hostage drama to settle scores with those he accused of framing him in the murder case.