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Cop who shot Mumbai hostage taker dead reveals what happened moments before: 'Gun pointed, children around...'
Rohit Arya, the accused behind the hostage standoff in Powai, was shot dead by a Mumbai Police cop, who has reportedly revealed why he took the step.
A tense situation unfolded in Mumbai on Thursday when a man allegedly held 17 children hostage at a studio for three hours after reportedly luring them there under the pretext of an ‘audition’.
Rohit Arya, the accused behind the hostage standoff in Powai, was shot dead by a Mumbai Police cop, who has reportedly revealed why he took the step. Powai police station API Amol Waghmare, who opened fire at Rohit Arya on Thursday, reportedly told the police that he did so after the hostage take pointed a gun at him in the presence of children, a situation the official described as a "real threat".
"Waghmare had tried to speak to Arya urging him not to take any extreme step. But Arya pointed his gun at the officer and it was a real threat. In self defence, Waghmare fired at Arya, who, unfortunately, succumbed later," another official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Notably, after Rohit Arya was shot dead, it was found out that he was carrying an air gun and an inflammable spray during the hostage stand-off. Cops rescued all 17 children held at the studio, and Rohit Arya sucummbed to the gun shot wound later.
Reel to real hostage situation at Powai building
Rohit Arya had called 17 children and two adults to R A Studio in Mumbai's Powai, and had reportedly told his crew that he was going to shoot a hostage scene there.
Little did anyone know that the fictional plot would become a reality just hours later.
Rohit's videographer friend Rohan Aher said he grew suspicious of his intentions after he was asked to lock all entry points into the studio claiming they were about to shoot a fire scene.
Police launched a rescue operation and began negotiating with Arya, during which gunfire erupted.
Moments leading up to Rohit Arya's shooting by cop
A police team had barged into the first-floor hall of the Powai building where the children were kept. API Amol Waghmare went inside, accompanied by another constable who stood behind him.
"In his complaint, he (Waghmare) has told police Arya pointed his gun at him and there were children around. Considering the situation presented a real threat, he opened fire. It has also come to light in the preliminary probe that there was some plan in his (Arya's) mind for a few months," the official told PTI.
Rohit Arya was shot in the chest and declared dead at the hospital. He is survived by a wife and a son, and his postmortem was conducted at at state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai on Friday.
