Mumbai: Tense negotiations with an adamant hostage-taker, the lives of 17 children and two adults at stake, frightening visuals of little hands banging on the glass facade of the building in which they were trapped, and a police encounter. A three-hour hostage situation had Mumbai on tenterhooks Thursday.
The 17 children made their way to RA Studio in a building called Mahavir Classik in Powai, under the impression that they had been called to audition for a web series. But the man who had summoned them had other plans.
Even though the police managed to rescue all the hostages unharmed, that wasn’t the end. When everyone thought it was all over, there was another shocker. Rohit Aarrya, the hostage-taker whose dramatic video where he elaborated on his demands spread like wildfire on social media, had succumbed to a gunshot police say they fired in self-defence.
So what happened in those tense three hours? ThePrint breaks it down:
A threat to burn the building down
According to the police, Aarrya, a former government contractor who also made short films, meticulously planned the operation.
He called children below 18 years of age to audition over four days, Thursday being the final day.
Throughout the five days, the parents were made to wait downstairs. However, at around 1 pm on Thursday, panic spread as the children did not come down for lunch, some parents told the media.
Around the same time, some children were seen shouting for help through the building’s glass facade, banging on the panes.
According to the police, Aarrya had locked the children in two rooms, and one group was with him.
At around 1.30 pm, a distress call was made to the Powai police station.
During this time, Aarrya made a video statement and sent it to the parents urging them to circulate it on social media. The video showed he was consumed by what he believed was the Maharashtra government’s betrayal.
“Instead of committing suicide, I have kept the children hostage. My demands are simple, moral and ethical. I am not a terrorist, but a common man. I just want to talk,” he was heard saying.
He also warned that if anything was done to “trigger him”, he would burn down the building, emphasising that he had the chemicals to do so.
Between 1.45 and 2 pm, the police reached the spot and began to negotiate with Aarrya.
According to the police, he initially cooperated and listened. The negotiations went on for an hour, but in the end, he reportedly said that he doesn’t trust the police.
By 3.15 pm, the police gave in and decided to find another way. A forced entry through a bathroom was planned.
The fire brigade was called in, and a Quick Response Team (QRT) of the police was stationed at the spot.
By 3.45 pm, the security grill and a glass window of the bathroom were broken, from where three police officers entered, including Assistant Police Inspector (API) Amol Waghmare in plain clothes.
Upon seeing them, Aarrya panicked and fired an air gun in the air. Waghmare returned fire, which hit Aarrya in the chest.
By 4.15 pm, all children were rescued safely and Aarrya was taken to the hospital where he was later declared dead.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)