UP hostage-taker had studied other cases, planned for a month: Police

The man, who had taken 23 children captive at an Uttar Pradesh village, had apparently planned it over a month and studied similar cases of hostage crisis, police said on Saturday.

Subhash Batham, a murder accused, took the children hostage after inviting them for a birthday party at his house in Farrukhabad's Kasaria village on Thursday afternoon.

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

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

Batham's wife, who was lynched by villagers, was involved and had demanded Rs one crore to free each child, he said