Food, fuel, ‘anti-corruption film’: The chilling kidnap plan of Mumbai hostage-taker

Rohit Arya had installed CCTV cameras at key locations in the studio and would track the feed on his smartphone.

The hostage crisis that unfolded in Mumbai’s Powai on Thursday was no spontaneous act but was meticulously planned by short filmmaker Rohit Arya, who held 17 teenagers captive in a studio under the pretext of shooting a web series.

The accused was shot by the police during a confrontation, leading to his death. (Satish Bate/ HT Photo)

The crisis eventually ended in a shootout within hours, leading to the death of the accused, and all the hostages were saved. However, Arya had planned in case the hostage situation pans out for longer, .

How Rohit Ara planned the hostage crisis

Prepared days ago: After asking children to come for auditions last week, Arya had begun ‘shooting’ at the studio on October 26, according to the grandmother of one of the children at the studio who was also taken hostage. After everything seemingly went well for three days, it was on Tuesday that he started covering the windows of the studio with black paper with children’s pictures on it, claiming that the sunlight was hampering the shoot, said Sachin Jadhav, a farmer from Kolhapur, whose daughter and mother-in-law were among the hostages, reported Hindustan Times earlier.

Stockpiled food for a long standoff: Investigations have revealed that Arya, now deceased, had turned the studio into a controlled trap. Leaving nothing to chance, Arya had stockpiled food for hostages in case the situation panned out for longer. He even got a broken latch on the studio’s door repaired and got motion sensors installed there to get alerted if anyone tried to enter the studio unexpectedly.

Rohit Arya installed CCTV cams: Arya had also installed CCTV cameras at key locations in the studio and would track the feed on his smartphone.

‘Movie on rebelling against corruption’: However, to everyone around him, Aarya appeared to shoot a short film. To not raise any suspicions about his real intentions, Aarya had told the children and his assistant, Rohan Raj Aher, who was also taken hostage, that he was shooting for a movie about children rebelling against corruption, which needed a scene of them being kidnapped.

“I had worked with Arya, off and on, since 2012. We were out of touch, when he called me recently and offered me this assignment. He told me he wanted to make a short film on children’s rebellion against corruption and there was a scene in which children would be kidnapped,” Aher said.

What he told parents of kids: On Thursday, said a police officer, Arya had told the parents he was to shoot the kidnapping scene and even covered the children’s faces with tape. “But when the children didn’t emerge for lunch and started feeling hungry at 1.50pm, he sent a video to one of the parents, declaring that he had held all the children inside hostage,” the officer said.

According to Aher, the booking of the studio was supposed to end on Wednesday, however, the accused had asked the owner for a one-day extension citing that the children needed acting lessons for one more day.

Assistant asked to bring petrol, crackers: Aher added that he was asked to bring five litres petrol and fire-crackers by Arya, who had stockpiled flammable liquid in the studio. Aher was taken to recreate the crime scene by the police on Friday.

Arya had also reportedly spread the flammable on the floor of the studio. Describing what happened, Aher, who was stuck at a floor below where the children were kept hostage, said, “I didn’t have keys to the studio. Those were with Arya. So I tried to break a glass door to get in but Arya threatened me with an air gun. I also noticed he had poured rubber solution on a cloth. It’s what we usually used to ignite small fires during shoots. He had kept four children nearby and said he could ignite the cloth with a lighter,”

Aher eventually helped police to get inside the studio to save the children, following which, Arya was shot by the police during a confrontation, leading to his death.

(With inputs from Vinay Dalvi)