Rohit Arya, man who held 17 children hostage in Powai, shot dead by Mumbai police

Rohit Arya, the man who held 17 children hostage at R A Studio in the Powai area in Mumbai, was shot dead by the Mumbai Police during a rescue operation on Thursday.

Hours before Rohit Arya's arrest, the Mumbai Police had shared that all the children had been rescued.

What happened in Mumbai?

On Thursday afternoon, the police received a call at about 1.45 pm about a man holding children hostage inside R A Studio in the Mahavir Classic building, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade.

The man was later identified as Rohit Arya. According to ANI, he held as many as 19 persons, including 17 children, hostage.

The children, boys and girls around 15 years old, had been called for an `audition', as per the preliminary information.

Ahead of the rescue operation, Arya had released a video on social media, saying he wanted to speak to a few people and ask them questions, and he did not want money. He had reportedly threatened that if he was not allowed to do so, he would set fire to the studio.

Arya was also carrying an air gun and some chemicals, as per the DCP who was handling the case.

Who was Rohit Arya?

Mumbai police officials are currently probing Rohit Arya's background, DCP Nalwade told PTI.

Initially, police tried to negotiate with Arya during the rescue operation, but as the talks made no headway – a police team entered the studio through the bathroom and overpowered him with the help of another person who was inside – the DCP told reporters.

"It was a challenging operation, because we were negotiating with him without any positive outcome....To save the children's lives was our priority," Nalawade said, adding that further investigation was underway.

‘Simple conversations’: Why Arya held children hostage?

In his video, Rohit Arya claimed that he wanted “simple conversations” and he chose hostage-taking "instead of dying by suicide".

According to a report by NDTV, Rohit Arya alleged that he had not received payment for a sanitation campaign called the PLC Sanitation Monitor Project, launched under the Chief Minister's My School, Beautiful School campaign.

He reportedly claimed that the department had sanctioned ₹2 crore for his work but had not paid him since January 2024.

Rohit Arya had even alleged that the then education minister Deepak Kesarkar had reportedly given him two cheques – one of ₹7 lakh and another of ₹8 lakh as personal assistance, promising more later – something Arya claimed was never fulfilled.