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Mumbai Police Rescue 17 Children in Powai Hostage Standoff After Captor Is Shot Dead

Authorities have launched a Crime Branch probe with forensic testing into the operation.

Overview

  • Police say assistant inspector Amol Waghmare fired a single shot when Rohit Arya pointed a gun at officers near the children, and Arya later died at a hospital.
  • All 17 children and two adults were freed from RA Studio in the Mahavir Classic building after teams entered via a bathroom vent and by cutting through glass.
  • Investigators recovered an air gun, chemicals, motion sensors and other devices from the studio, with items sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.
  • Police and witness accounts indicate the children, roughly ages 10–15, were lured for fake auditions that Arya had set up after renting the studio days earlier.
  • Officials say Arya claimed he wanted to press a grievance over about ₹2 crore in alleged unpaid dues tied to education projects, a claim the Maharashtra government has publicly disputed.