- By Shubham Bajpai
- Sat, 01 Nov 2025 08:08 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
After the fiction-like hostage drama shocked Mumbai, the latest account of the incident suggests that the accused Rohit Arya, a filmmaker and teacher, insisted on the crew to shoot a hostage situation drama involving children, which turned out to be a real-life criminal act.
Arya's videographer, Rohan Aher, recalled the shocking incident as he turned into a prime witness and a hero in a 3.5-hour ordeal.
Aher said that he sensed foul play when Arya asked him to bring 5 litres of petrol and firecrackers on Wednesday. Aher wisely ignored his instructions, which averted a possible tragedy.
Aher said that when he reached the studio on Thursday morning, a spot boy told him nobody was allowed to go into the studio upstairs. Arya came down and asked him to lock the main gate and all entry points, claiming that he needed to shoot a fire scene for which he had brought rubber solution bottles.
The events unfolded into the critical situations with Arya's acts as he poured the solution and set it ablaze in front of the trapped children.
Upon calls by Aher and others to stop, Arya wielded an air gun and ordered them to stay away.
Aher immediately ran outside to tell bystanders to call the police. Aher then returned to the studio and used a hammer to break a glass window upstairs. However, Arya attempted a paper spray on his eyes because of which he fell from the stairs and sustained a hand injury.
Soon, the police were on the spot negotiating with Arya. Again, Aher attempted to rescue the children by sneaking back into the studio and urging the children to flee with him.
Most of the children escaped successfully, but four of them remained inside. The police barged in and shot fire. Aher heard the gunshots when he returned to bring out the remaining children.
(With agency inputs)