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‘Not a terrorist, but…’: Rohit Arya's chilling video after taking 16 children hostage in Mumbai
Before police rescued the children, accused Rohit Arya circulated a video message in which he said he was holding the kids hostage.
A tense hostage situation unfolded in Mumbai's Powai on Thursday afternoon after a man, identified as Rohit Arya, took 16 children hostage inside a local acting studio.
Before police rescued the children, Arya circulated a video message in which he said he was holding the kids hostage as he wanted to get some answers from 'certain' people to his "simple, moral, and ethical" questions.
According to the police, Arya took the children, aged between 8 and 14, hostage while they had gathered at a local studio, RA studio, for an "audition" for a web series.
Around midday, he circulated a video, roughly a minute and a half long, in which he explained his motive and warned authorities against any "wrong move." The footage soon became viral.
"I have very simple demands. Very moral, ethical demands. I have some questions," Arya said, adding, "I'd like to speak with some people. I want these answers. I am not a terrorist, nor do I have any demand for money. (I) want to make simple conversations."
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He issued a stern warning to authorities that "the slightest wrong move from your end may trigger me to set this whole place on fire, whether I die or not, the children will be unnecessarily hurt, traumatised for sure. I should not be held responsible."
Arya ended by saying that after the "conversations," he would leave the room and vaguely added that "a lot of people have these problems" and that he would offer a solution through talks, though he never specified what the problems were.
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Senior Inspector Sonawane added that Arya had demanded to speak with former Maharashtra education minister Deepak Kesarkar, citing grievances he claimed to have with the department.
"At about 1.30 pm, Powai police station received information that a person had taken 17 children hostage at the Mahavir Classic building. The Mumbai Police team conducted a rescue operation and safely freed all the children. During the operation, while rescuing the children, the person got injured, was immediately rushed to the hospital and later declared dead," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade.
Accused shot dead
The accused died on Thursday during the rescue operations after he held 16 children and one woman hostage inside the studio.
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The incident prompted a massive joint operation by the Mumbai police and fire brigade that lasted for over an hour.
The man appeared to be mentally unstable and was immediately taken into custody after all the children were safely rescued, said Senior Inspector Jeevan Sonawane of Powai Police. “All the children are safe and handed to their guardians. Other details will be shared after due verification,” he added.
