The Mumbai Police on Friday, October 31, said that it has recovered items such as air gun, petrol, inflammable rubber solution and a lighter from the studio in Powai where the now deceased Rohit Arya held 17 children and two adults hostage on Thursday afternoon. The recovered items were sent to forensics. The case has now been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch team.
The police registered a case against deceased Rohit Arya under sections 109(1), 140, 287 of BNS 2023 against the now-deceased Rohit Arya. His body was brought to the JJ Hospital in Mumbai for a postmortem by the Crime Branch team.
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The 50-year-old was shot during the rescue operation of 17 children in Powai, where Arya had made them hostages. He was later rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead at around 5.15 pm.
The hostage scene began at around 1.30 pm on Thursday at the RA Studio in Powai's Mahavir Classing building. The children aged between 10 to 12 were kept hostage at the apartment building, who were lured to attend auditions for a web series for the past two days.
When the police reached the spot, Arya released a video in which he claimed that he had chosen this option instead of committing suicide. He said he is not a terrorist and had not demanded money. He said he only wanted to ask some questions to the Maharashtra government. He warned that any wrong move by the authorities could lead him to set the studio on fire.
The Mumbai Police swiftly mobilised a bomb detection team, firefighters, ambulances and negotiators. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade, officers entered the building through a duct using a ladder to reach the first floor, where Arya was holding the hostages.
During the rescue, Arya pointed an air gun towards officers and was hit by a police bullet while firing. All 17 children and two adults were rescued safely from the studio premises at around 4 pm after high voltage drama.