Mumbai Hostage Crisis: Man Who Held 17 Children in Powai Dies After Police Encounter

Rohit Arya, the man who allegedly held 17 children captive inside a small studio in Mumbai's Powai area, died after being shot during a confrontation with police.

The tense standoff unfolded on Thursday afternoon and ended when police stormed the building to rescue the children. Arya was critically injured in the exchange and later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

Police Operation Ends in Fatal Encounter

According to the Mumbai Police, Arya opened fire on officers using an air gun when they attempted to negotiate with him during the rescue mission. The police responded with a single round of live fire, hitting him. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but did not survive his wounds.

The dramatic events took place at RA Studios, a small setup inside a residential building where Arya had allegedly invited several children, aged between 8 and 14, for what he claimed was an acting audition. The children were held hostage for nearly three hours before being rescued unharmed.

Swift Police Response and Rescue

A team from Powai Police Station received an emergency call around 1:45 pm and rushed to the location. Officers attempted to calm Arya and secure the children's release through negotiation. However, when he began threatening to harm the children, the police were forced to act.

Using a diversion tactic, officers broke in through a bathroom window and successfully pulled all 17 children to safety. Authorities later recovered an air gun and chemical containers from the studio, which Arya had allegedly used to intimidate police during the operation.

Disturbing Video Before the Hostage Drama

Before taking the children hostage, Arya recorded a video in which he revealed his intentions. In the footage, he said he chose hostage-taking "instead of dying by suicide."

"I am Rohit Arya. Instead of dying by suicide, I have made a plan and am holding some children hostage here," he said, claiming to have "simple demands, moral demands, ethical demands, and a few questions."

He further warned that "the slightest wrong move from you will trigger me" and threatened to set the studio ablaze. Arya insisted he was "not a terrorist" and sought "simple conversations."

"I want simple conversations, and that's why I've taken these children hostage. I've held them hostage as part of a plan. If I live, I'll do it; if I die, someone else will, but it will definitely happen because the slightest wrong move from you will trigger me to set this whole place on fire and die in it," Arya said in the video.

Dispute Over Unpaid Government Project

Investigators later revealed that Arya had been battling frustration over an unpaid government contract. He claimed that officials had failed to clear dues for his 'PLC Sanitation Monitor Project', part of the Chief Minister's My School, Beautiful School campaign. The initiative was launched under his personal drive called 'Let's Change', which aimed to make schoolchildren "ambassadors of cleanliness."

Arya had alleged that Rs 2 crore had been sanctioned for his project but that he had not been paid since January 2024. He had even staged two hunger strikes earlier in the year, accusing authorities of ignoring him despite promises from then Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar.