MUMBAI: Mumbai Police successfully concluded a nearly three-hour long dramatic hostage situation on Thursday, safely rescuing 17 children and two adults held at a studio in Powai by a person who died from a bullet injury sustained during police action. The incident unfolded around 1:30 PM after the Powai police station received an alert that a person identified as Rohit Arya (50) had taken 17 children hostage inside R A Studio in the Mahavir Classic building.
The children, boys and girls between the ages of 10 to 12, had been called to the studio for an audition for a web series that had been ongoing for two days.
In a video released before police intervention, hostage-taker Arya explained his motive, claiming he made a plan to hold the children instead of committing suicide.
“I have very simple demands. Very moral, ethical demands. I have some questions,” Arya said, adding, “I want to speak to some people… I want these answers. I am not a terrorist, nor do I have any demand for money. (I) want to make simple conversations.”
He issued a stern warning to authorities that “the slightest wrong move from your end may trigger me to set this whole place on fire….whether I die or not, the children will be unnecessarily hurt, traumatised for sure….I should not be held responsible.”
Arya ended by saying that after the “conversations,” he would leave the room and vaguely added that “a lot of people have these problems” and that he would offer a solution through talks, though he never specified what the problems were.
“At about 1.30 pm, Powai police station received information that a person had taken 17 children hostage at Mahavir Classic building. The Mumbai Police team conducted a rescue operation and safely freed all the children. During the operation, while rescuing the children, the person got injured, was immediately rushed to the hospital and later declared dead,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade.
Arya was declared dead at 5.15 pm, officials said.
“All the children are safe,” said Satyanaranyan, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) around 4.15 pm.
According to police, Arya was carrying an air gun and also some chemicals. Anxious parents waited outside the 10-storey building as the hostage drama unfolded.
After receiving a call about a man holding children hostage inside R A Studio in Mahavir Classic building, Powai police officials along with a Quick Response Team (QRT), Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and a fire brigade team reached the spot, said DCP Nalawade.
Before the police entered the studio, Arya released his video which went viral on social media.
DCP Nalawade said the police tried to negotiate with him, but as the talks made no headway, a police team entered the studio through the bathroom. The fire brigade provided a ladder for the police to climb to a first-floor window.
Seventeen children, a senior citizen and another man were rescued, Nalawade said.
“It was a challenging operation, because we were negotiating with him without any positive outcome….To save the children’s lives was our priority,” he said.
Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad said the incident indicated deterioration in the city’s law and order situation.
“Rohit Arya had worked on major projects with the Maharashtra Education Department, and he claimed he was owed Rs 2 crore, for which he had held protests earlier. Due to this negligence on the part of the government, the lives of many children were put in danger today,” claimed the Lok Sabha MP from Mumbai North Central.
When asked by reporters about the incident in Amravati, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, said details will be shared soon.
‘Dawood Ibrahim not a terrorist’: Mamta Kulkarni sparks controversy; clarifies after outrage
Gorakhpur (UP), Oct 30 (PTI) Actress-turned-seer Mamta Kulkarni has found herself at the centre of controversy following her recent remarks that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim “is not a terrorist”.
The statement went viral on social media, drawing sharp reactions.
Addressing a press conference during her three-day spiritual tour to Gorakhpur, Kulkarni on Tuesday said that Dawood Ibrahim “did not carry out the Mumbai blasts and is not a terrorist”.
However, on Thursday, she issued a clarification, claiming her comments were misunderstood.
“I was referring to Vicky Goswami, not Dawood Ibrahim. Dawood is indeed a terrorist,” she asserted.
Goswami, who was arrested on charges of drug trafficking and jailed in the past, was linked with the former film star.
Speaking to reporters in Gorakhpur, Kulkarni added that she has never met Dawood in person.
“I have no connection with politics or the film industry now. I am completely devoted to spirituality,” she said.
“As a staunch follower of Sanatan Dharma, it is impossible for me to have any association with anti-national elements,” she added.
Kulkarni made her controversial remarks during a media interaction at a city hotel on Tuesday. The next day, she visited the Gorakhnath Temple, where she offered prayers, met saints, and attended a bhajan sandhya along with Kinnar Akhada’s Mahamandaleshwar Laxmi Narayan Tripathi.
Sharing her spiritual journey, Kulkarni said, “My association with the Nath sect is purely spiritual. In 1995, Guru Gagan Giri Maharaj, a revered saint of the Nath tradition, entered my life and transformed it. Visiting Baba Gorakhnath’s shrine has been a long-cherished wish, and today it stands fulfilled.” (PTI)