Hostage-taker dies after standoff with cops in Mumbai

Highlights

17 children rescued unharmed from Powai flat

Mumbai: Rohit Arya, the man accused of taking 17 children hostage in Mumbai's Powai area on Thursday, has died after being injured in an exchange of gunfire with police.

According to the police, Arya shot at the police using an air gun during a rescue operation, prompting the police to return one round of fire. He was taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds but died of his injuries during treatment.

The dramatic confrontation took place inside a small film studio called RA Studios, where Arya had lured a group of children for what he described as an "audition". Police say the children, all between the ages of 8 and 14, were held hostage for about two hours before being rescued unharmed. Police said a team from Powai Police Station received a distress call around 1:45 pm and arrived swiftly at the scene.

The negotiations began immediately, but he refused to release the children.

When he threatened to harm them, the police team conducted a forced entry through the bathroom and secured all 17 children safely. Before the incident, Arya had released a video in which he said he chose hostage-taking "instead of dying by suicide".

"I am Rohit Arya. Instead of dying by suicide, I have made a plan and am holding some children hostage here," he said, listing what he described as "simple demands, moral demands, ethical demands, and a few questions."

He warned that "the slightest wrong move from you will trigger me" and threatened to set the place on fire, adding that he did not seek money and was "not a terrorist".