Who is Rohit Arya, man who held children hostage in Mumbai's Powai studio?

Dramatic scenes unfolded in an acting studio in Mumbai's Powai on Thursday noon, where a man held 19 people hostage, including 17 children and a senior citizen. The man, identified as Rohit Arya, was taken into custody after all the hostages were safely rescued following more than an hour-long standoff.

The hostage situation ended when police breached the premises through a bathroom. Air guns and chemicals were recovered at the scene. The children, all around 15 years old, were handed over to their guardians.

WHO IS ROHIT ARYA?

Arya is an employee at the RA Studio and also runs a YouTube channel. For days, he had reportedly been conducting auditions, drawing in families. Arya is reportedly from Nagpur and stayed in Chembur.

The Mumbai Police, in a statement, said that the man seems to be mentally unstable. It added that cops are interrogating him and trying to find out the motive and if he is actually mentally unstable.

"A man, identified as Rohit Arya, has held a few children hostage in Powai area of Mumbai. He has released a video purportedly saying that he wants to speak with a few people and if he is not allowed to do it, he will set everything on fire and harm himself and the children. The man seems to be mentally unstable and Police are trying to handle the matter," said Mumbai Police.

WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE?

In a video released after the incident, Arya insisted that his demands were not financial but "moral" and "ethical." He warned authorities not to provoke him. "The reason I have taken these children hostage is that I took them hostage as part of a plan," Arya said in the video.

"I am Rohit Arya, instead of attempting a suicide, I have made a plan to take some children hostage. I don't have many demands, very simple ones that are moral and ethical. I have some questions and want to talk to some people and counter-question them but I want these answers."

He added, "I'm not a terrorist, I don't have any demand for a lot of money, in fact there is no demand for money, and there is no immoral demand, I just want to have a simple conversation. And I have taken these children hostage and a slightest wrong move from your end will trigger me to put this place on fire."

Issuing a chilling warning, he said, "Whether I remain alive or dead, children will be unnecessarily traumatised and if anything else happens to them... don't hold me responsible but those who are necessarily triggering this, when a normal common person just wants to talk. After completing my conversation, I will come out... a lot of people are having these issues and I want to have this solution by just the means of conversation. Please don't trigger me to do some harm to anybody."

- Ends