In a harrowing three-and-a-half-hour ordeal in Mumbai’s Powai area, 17 children, aged between 12 and 15, were held hostage by a 50-year-old man named Rohit Arya. The children had gathered at a studio for what they believed was an audition, but Arya, armed with an airgun and flammable spray, took them captive. The dramatic rescue was a result of a coordinated operation by the Mumbai police and fire brigade.
Arya, who hailed from Pune and had reportedly worked with the Maharashtra government on a campaign, released a video during the standoff. In the video, he maintained a disturbingly calm demeanor, stating he had no intention of harming the children. His primary objective, he claimed, was to secure ₹2 crore that he believed the Maharashtra education department owed him. Arya, who was also involved in making short films, had previously worked with the state government, notably on a cleanliness awareness program.
The unfolding of the crisis:
The situation began around 8 am when the children, accompanied by their parents, arrived at Arya’s rented studio. While parents waited outside, their anxiety grew as the children did not emerge even by lunchtime, and access to the studio was blocked. By 1:45 pm, concerned onlookers from an adjacent building noticed children crying and pleading for help through the studio’s glass windows, prompting them to alert the police.
Police arrived at the scene by 2 pm and immediately initiated negotiations with Arya. Simultaneously, specialized teams, assisted by the fire brigade, infiltrated the building through duct lines. One team accessed the hall from a first-floor bathroom, while another breached the glass wall from the opposite side.
The tense standoff concluded around 5:15 pm when police officer Amol Waghmare from the Powai police station’s anti-terrorist cell shot Arya in the chest during an entry from the bathroom. Arya was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead. Arya’s motivations appear to stem from a dispute over payment for his short films and documentaries related to cleanliness campaigns, for which he claimed credit and payment were denied by the education department. He had reportedly staged protests multiple times regarding this issue.