17 Children Rescued from Hostage Situation at Mumbai Film Audition: Police Intervention Ends Crisis

The incident occurred in Mumbai's Powai area.

Mumbai:

Police successfully rescued 17 children who were being held hostage in Mumbai's Powai neighborhood. The perpetrator, who identified himself as Rohit Arya in a pre-recorded video message, later succumbed to injuries sustained during an exchange of gunfire with police forces.

Authorities responded rapidly after becoming aware of the circulating video and managed to free all children shortly after they were taken captive.

In his recorded message, the man explained he had chosen to take hostages rather than commit suicide as a means to force conversations with unnamed individuals. "I am Rohit Arya. Instead of dying by suicide, I have made a plan and am holding some children hostage here," he stated, referring to what he termed "simple demands, moral demands, ethical demands, and a few questions." He cautioned that "the slightest wrong move from you will trigger me" and threatened to ignite the premises, while emphasizing he wasn't seeking financial gain and was "not a terrorist".

"I want simple conversations, and that's why I've taken these children hostage. I've held them hostage as part of a plan. If I live, I'll do it; if I die, someone else will, but it will definitely happen because the slightest wrong move from you will trigger me to set this whole place on fire and die in it," Arya declared in the video.

Police sources revealed that the children had arrived at RA Studios, located on the ground floor of a Powai building, for a film audition. Law enforcement officials have seized what appears to be an air gun and various chemicals from the scene.

According to police reports, authorities received an emergency call at approximately 1:45 pm.

A response team was promptly dispatched and initiated negotiations with the suspect. When he refused to release the hostages, police officers executed a forced entry through the bathroom area and successfully rescued all children inside.

The motivation behind the hostage situation remains undetermined. Authorities continue to investigate the case.