A tense rescue operation mounted by the Mumbai Police freed 17 children and three adults who had been held hostage at a theatre studio in Powai. The crisis was overcome when a police officer fired a round and shot the accused, Rohit Arya, who succumbed to injuries.
Accused Identified As Filmmaker, Activist
The man behind the hostage situation was identified as Rohit Arya, a Pune-based filmmaker-activist. Arya had allegedly rented the RA Studio at Mahavir Classic in Powai on the pretext of auditioning children for a web series.
The ordeal began Thursday morning when the children and their parents arrived for the audition. By 1 pm, the children had not come down from the first-floor studio for lunch, raising alarm among parents.
Method And Demands Of The Hostage Taker
Local police were called at 1:45 pm after neighbors reported seeing children crying and pleading for help from behind the studio’s closed glass windows.
Arya had allegedly locked the children, along with two female and one young male assistant, inside the theatre. Reports said he secured the doors with theft sensors to prevent unauthorised entry. Armed with an air gun, Arya threatened to use an inflammable chemical spray to set the place on fire if police attempted to storm the premises.
Arya allegedly divided the children into two groups and threatened to shoot them one after the other. He recorded a video during the standoff and claimed his motive was to recover money owed to him by the Maharashtra education department, and denied any intent to harm the children.
Covert Entry And Tactical Standoff
The local police, along with a Bomb Disposal Squad and a Quick Response Team, initiated negotiations with Arya while simultaneously planning a covert entry.
The order was then given for the Fire Brigade to enter the building from the rear. Two police teams climbed the building using the building’s duct line and the support of the Fire Brigade. One of the teams reached the first-floor hall where the hostages were held, while the second team breached the hall by cutting a glass wall from the opposite side.
Critical Shot by Officer Amol Waghmare The rescue ended when Assistant Sub-Inspector Amol Waghmare, a member of the Powai police station’s anti-terrorist cell, who entered the studio hall through the bathroom, shot Rohit Arya in his chest with a single round.
The crime branch officials said the accused was not to be shot at as per the initial plan. But things unfolded differently.
“The moment the negotiation ploy distracted Arya’s attention, the teams raided the hall. As soon as we entered, Arya ran towards us. Our main mission was to save the children. One of our officers fired — it was a split-second decision,” said a senior officer.
Arya was rushed to the Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Hospital, but was declared dead. Waghmare was known as a “quiet officer” and “well-trained in firearms”; he is now being hailed as a hero for his bravery.
Officials said that officers are regularly trained to make critical firing decisions, and the “on-the-spot” call to neutralize the threat was the “right call” as it ensured all the hostages were rescued safely.
ALSO READ | The Title-Less Royal: What Happens When King Charles Strips His Brother Of His Birthright?
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
