• Source:JND
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Mumbai Children Hostage Horror: A 50-year-old man named Rohit Arya abducted 17 children aged between 12 and 15 on the pretext of a fake audition at a studio in Mumbai's Powai after a financial dispute with the state Education Department. The key accused was shot dead after he held children hostage for 3.5 hours.

The accused, Rohit Arya, was carrying an airgun and an inflammable spray and was killed in a massive joint operation of the Delhi police and fire brigade.

Before he was killed, Rohit Arya released a video, claiming that he was not a terrorist and just wanted to talk. He said he had no intention to hurt the children but wanted to speak to certain people to help him recover Rs 2 crore that the Maharashtra education department owed him. 

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As per reports, he used to make short films and had worked with the Maharashtra government for a campaign.

Here's Timeline On What Unfolded In 3.5 Hours

- As of 8 in the morning on Thursday, the children, accompanied by their parents, reached Arya's studio in Powai on Thursday morning, which Arya had rented at Mahavir Classic, a commercial-cum-residential building, four days ago. Children went inside for an audition as their parents waited outside the studio.

- Parents grew worried after the kids did not come out for even lunch till 1 pm, and parents could not access the theatre as well.

- People from the adjacent building alerted police at 1:45 after they saw children pleading for help from behind the glass door.

- Arya, accompanied by two female assistants and one young male assistant, confined the children within the theatre. He reportedly had installed theft sensors at the door that would trigger an alert if anyone tried to enter.

- Police arrived at the site in the afternoon, around 2 pm and engaged Arya in negotiation. In the meantime, two teams, with the help of the fire brigade, climbed the building’s duct line. One team entered the hall through the first-floor bathroom, while the other cut through the glass wall to reach the hostage children.

- After a massive standoff, Amol Waghmare of the anti-terrorist cell of the Powai police station shot Arya in the chest as he entered the studio through the bathroom on the first floor. He was later taken to  Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Hospital in Jogeshwari, where he was declared dead.

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Mumbai Children Hostage: Rohit Arya Releases Video

Releasing a video, Accused Rohit Arya explained the reason behind his move. He said, “Instead of dying by suicide, I have made some plans and have accordingly held the children hostage here. My demands are not many…my demands are simple and moral and ethical… I want answers from some people and answers to counter-questions that might crop up from their answers, but I want answers to my questions. I am not a terrorist and do not have any monetary demands, and my demands are not immoral at all."

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