As the accused opened fire on the police with a pellet gun, the ASI retaliated by firing back at him, the sources said.
Rohit Arya, who held 19 people, including 17 children and a female senior citizen, hostage in Mumbai’s Powai suburb on Thursday noon, died during treatment at a hospital for bullet injury he sustained in police firing. He was shot in the chest by Assistant Police Inspector (ASI) Amol Waghmare, based at the Powai police station, according to Mumbai Police sources.
As the accused opened fire on the police with a pellet gun, the ASI retaliated by firing back at him, the sources said. The accused, who was shifted to a hospital after being shot in the chest, died during treatment.
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After receiving a call at 2.30 pm noon on Thursday about a man who had taken children hostage in a building called Mahavir Classic, the Powai Police swung into action and immediately called special units and the quick reaction force.
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#BREAKING | Children taken hostage in Mumbai’s RA Studio building in Powai. Cops in talk with suspect.
More details awaited. pic.x.com/lIKxQr33ZU
— Harsh Trivedi (@harshtrivediii) October 30, 2025
Engaging the kidnapper in negotiations, police officers entered the building, where the hostages were kept, through the bathroom and with the help of a person inside safely rescued all the children who were at an audition venue for a web series at RA Studio in Powai.
Airguns and chemicals were recovered from the scene. The children, all of 15 years old, were handed over to their guardians after being rescued, the police sources said.
#WATCH | Maharashtra: Visuals from the spot in Powai area of Mumbai where a man, identified as Rohit Arya, held a few children hostage demanding that he be allowed to speak to a few people.
The children were soon rescued by the Police and handed over to their guardians. The… pic.x.com/9W5iCLMOw9
— ANI (@ANI) October 30, 2025
The background of the accused Rohit Arya and his demands are being investigated, the sources said, adding that he could have been mentally disturbed.
After Rohit Arya took the children hostage, he told the police through a video message, “I have some demands. Instead of committing suicide, I have taken these children hostage, Rohit Arya has said through the video. I am not a terrorist, I have some simple demands. I want to communicate. I want to say something. I want to talk to some people. I want to ask them questions”.
“I am not a terrorist. I have not been asked for money. Even after a simple fast since May 1, this is still happening today and tomorrow. Therefore, from today I have started a severe fast. Now, I will not even take water. If you understand the seriousness, it will be better. If not, Jai Shri Ram. I am not alone. Many people have this problem. I want to communicate,” the hostage taker said.
The police sources further said that information has come to light that Rohit Arya committed the act to draw attention to the financial losses he faced in a project. He had sat on a fast a few days ago to recover his money which was supposedly with the government. He had taken a project loan but did not receive the money due to which he claimed that he suffered a loss of crores of rupees, the sources said.
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