Vendetta Party: Police Shoot Gunman In 9-Hour Hostage Of Neighborhood Kids

Indian police on Friday shot to death a man who allegedly staged a birthday party for his daughter for vendetta. Multiple reports noted that suspect Subhash Batham held over 20 kids hostage inside his home for around nine hours.

According to FOX News, the children, ranging in age from six months to 15 years old, were rescued by the police safely after the shootout. Aside from the neighbor’s kids, Batham also held his wife and daughter hostage starting Thursday afternoon.

Authorities were alerted earlier on Thursday regarding the fake birthday party. Upon hearing the arrival of police in the neighborhood, Batham reportedly started firing from inside the house.

Around 1 a.m. on Friday, police finally broke in through the front door and fired at Batham to defend themselves. While the suspect was pronounced dead around 30 minutes after the shootout, three others were injured, including two police officers.

Before police broke into his house, authorities tried to convince him to surrender and bring the children out safely. However, Batham chose to drag the time for nearly 10 hours, forcing the police to break in.

BBC reported that Batham’s wife was also dragged into the ordeal as she tried to escape. Upon exiting the house, she was beaten by the locals in the Farrukhabad district. Police said neighbors threw stones and bricks and later died from her injuries.

It was not immediately confirmed if the suspect’s wife was involved in staging the fake party or not. However, local reporter Deepak Kumer Srivastava said Batham believed that his neighbors played a role in his previous arrest.

Srivastava went on to explain that Batham wanted to take revenge. The details on his vendetta motive have yet to be officially confirmed by the authorities.

Local television channels came to appeal to Batham for his demands. Authorities said he previously submitted a letter to his local district magistrate, asking for toilet facilities in his home.

According to India Today, Batham added in his letter that his request for toilet facilities was for his sick mother. He said the government denied his request for housing and his request for a toilet was also snubbed.

Inspector-General of Police in Kanpur Range Mohit Agarwal pointed out that Batham appeared to be mentally stable while the authorities and media tried to speak with him. However, he fired at the people who attempted a pep talk.

A special aircraft was used to deploy National Security Guard (NSG) personnel to the area. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said commandos and police teams who assisted during the 9-hour stand-off will receive certificates of appreciation.