YouTuber Rohit Arya took 17 children, a senior citizen, and a man hostage at Ra Studio in Mumbai's Powai area on Thursday at 1:45 pm. Police and special commandos shot him and rescued all the hostages safely. The accused was taken to the hospital where he died during treatment.
The police operation lasted for an hour. An air gun and chemicals were recovered from the scene. However, the motive of the accused, Rohit Arya, is still unknown. According to the police, the accused had called more than 100 children for auditions.
Acting classes are held on the first floor of Ra Studio, where the children were taken hostage. During the incident, the children were seen peeping out of the studio windows. The children's parents have also arrived.
17 children, a senior citizen, and a civilian were rescued. According to police, the accused had called more than 100 children for auditions.
There was alarm and panic in the area following the incident. Witnesses reported seeing children peeking out through the studio’s glass windows as they were confined by the suspect, Rohit Arya. Arya was an employee at the studio and also runs a YouTube channel.
Acting classes are held on the first floor of Ra Studio, where the children were taken hostage. During the incident, the children were seen peeping out of the studio windows. Their parents have also arrived.
Suspect was mentally unstable?
The incident began during an acting audition. For days, Arya had reportedly been conducting auditions, drawing in families. "Parents would bring their kids, thinking this could help them get roles in films in the future," an eyewitness said. "The auditions ran from 10 am to 8 pm every day."
On Thursday, Arya allegedly allowed around 80 children to leave but confined 20 children, along with a senior citizen and another civilian.
The situation escalated when Arya released a video message, insisting his demands were not financial but "moral" and "ethical." He warned authorities not to provoke him. "The reason I have taken these children hostage is that I took them hostage as part of a plan," Arya said in the video.chilling threat
Chilling threat
He then issued a chilling threat: "A slightest wrong move from your end will trigger me to set this entire place on fire and die in it... Please do not trigger me to do any harm to anybody."
Police responded swiftly. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Datta Nalawade, said officers forced entry through a bathroom. Air guns and chemicals were recovered at the scene.
The children, boys and girls around 15 years old, were handed over to their guardians.
"All the children are safe, we have met them," the eyewitness confirmed. "They are fine, though they were quite scared. The Mumbai Police treated the children very well.”