Rohit Arya, the man who took 19 people, including 17 children as hostage in Mumbai’s Powai area on Thursday and was later shot dead by police, had previously worked as a short filmmaker.

According to sources, Arya had written and directed a few short films, most of which focused on children and social issues. One of his short films was titled “Let’s Change.”

Arya, 50, was killed during a police operation that safely rescued 17 children who were later handed over to their parents.

The children were held hostage by Arya inside a studio in the Powai area following which the police officials rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.

Sources said that the children were rescued after a tense hour-long standoff at R A Studio.

He reportedly refused to negotiate with the police and attempted violently towards the cops during negotiations and was later killed in retaliation by the police, sources said.

After the police action, Arya was rushed to the Jogeshwari Trauma Centre, where he was declared dead, they said.

“At around 1:30 pm, Powai Police Station received information that a person had taken 17 children hostage at Mahavir Classic building in Powai. The Mumbai Police team conducted a rescue operation and safely freed all the children. During the operation while rescuing children the person got injured, was immediately rushed to the hospital, and was later declared dead,” Mumbai Police said in an official statement on Thursday.

Sources said that Arya`s postmortem will be conducted on Friday at the JJ Hospital and it will be recorded by the police for further investigations.

According to preliminary information from sources, the group of boys and girls, all around 15 years of age, had been invited to the studio for an ‘audition’. The situation escalated when Arya allegedly locked the children inside and began live-streaming a video on social media.

 

 

 

 

 

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In the video, Arya can be seen saying that he wanted to speak to certain people and ask them questions, insisting that he did not want money. He threatened to set fire to the studio if his demands were not met.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad on Thursday described the hostage incident as deeply disturbing and indicative of a decline in the city’s law and order situation.

Varsha Gaikwad stated that Arya had previously worked on significant projects with the Maharashtra Education Department.

Criticising the BJP-led Mahayuti government, the Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North Central alleged that official negligence had put the lives of children at risk during the hostage crisis, which unfolded inside a studio in the afternoon.

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