Mumbai Hostage-Taker Dies After Police Standoff; 17 Children Rescued Safely.
Rohit Arya, the man who held 17 children hostage inside a film studio in Mumbai’s Powai area on Thursday, died after being injured in a police operation to rescue the minors, officials said.
According to police, Arya fired at officers using an air gun during the standoff, prompting the police to return fire. A single bullet hit him in the chest, and he later succumbed to his injuries during treatment. His post-mortem is being conducted at JJ Hospital.
The two-hour ordeal unfolded inside RA Studios, a small film studio where Arya had reportedly lured the children — aged between 8 and 14 — under the pretext of a web series audition. A team from Powai Police Station responded to a distress call around 1:45 p.m. and immediately began negotiations. When Arya refused to release the children and threatened to harm them, officers stormed the premises through a bathroom entrance and safely rescued all 17 minors.
Before the incident, Arya had released a video in which he declared his plan to take hostages, claiming it was an alternative to dying by suicide. In the recording, he said he had taken the children hostage to press what he described as “simple, moral, and ethical demands,” adding that he had no intention of seeking money or engaging in terrorism.
Police later recovered an air gun and several chemical containers from the scene, which Arya allegedly used to threaten officers.
Investigations reveal Arya had long expressed grievances against the Maharashtra education department, alleging unpaid dues of ₹2 crore for his PLC Sanitation Monitor Project — part of the ‘My School, Beautiful School’ campaign. He had claimed the initiative, launched under his ‘Let’s Change’ movement in 2013, aimed to turn students into “ambassadors of cleanliness.”
Arya had previously accused government officials of neglecting his work and claimed he had gone on hunger strikes twice in 2024 over unpaid funds. He also alleged that then-Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar had personally given him two cheques worth ₹7 lakh and ₹8 lakh, promising further payment.
However, Maharashtra Education Secretary Ranjit Singh Deol refuted Arya’s claims, stating that there was no agreement to pay him ₹2 crore. “He volunteered for the project and was given a certificate for his work. Discussions to implement the My Shala, Sundar Shala programme did not materialise. The government does not owe him any dues,” Deol clarified.
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