Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday felicitated 23 children who were held hostage in Farrukhabad district recently and also honoured the police personnel involved in the rescue operation.
The chief minister felicitated 13-year-old Anjali, who saved the lives of all the children by disconnecting the wire of a cylinder bomb. The government also announced a cash reward of Rs 51,000 for her.
He also honoured all the police officers involved in the successful night-long operation of getting the children freed by giving them a citation and a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.
Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the government will bear the expense of treatment of the villagers who suffered injuries during the operation.
Along with this, the government also announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for them.
Adityanath directed the officials of Farrukhabad district to make arrangements to provide houses under 'Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana' to all families living below poverty line in Karthia village.
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He asked the district administration to prepare a proposal for providing toilets, roads and clean drinking water in village, according to an official statement.
The chief minister said it is the responsibility of the state government to bear expenses of the accused's daughter Gauri.
The CM said Gauri and all other girls will be covered under 'Kanya Sumangala Yojana'. In addition, the government will deposit a certain amount in the bank in the name of Gauri for her expense, the statement said.
The chief minister said all the children showed patience as well as strong will during the hostage crisis.
"In difficult times, our patience and intelligence drive our success. In Farrukhabad, we have received good result because of better coordination between administration and police, administration and public and public representatives and the public," Adityanath said.
He said Batham had built a basement in his house. There was no window in the house and he built his home with a "criminal mindset", the chief minister said.
"Now along with the beat police, common people should also be vigilant for their safety and keep a close watch on such suspicious constructions around their houses. Suspected construction should be closely monitored," he added.
The hostage crisis in Farrukhabad ended shortly after midnight last Friday after the 23 children who were held captive for about eight hours were rescued by the police and the captor was shot dead, while his wife was lynched by angry locals.
The hostage drama began at Kasaria village when Subhash Batham, a murder accused, invited the children, aged between six months and 15 years, to his daughter's birthday party.