All 17 children were rescued safely, and Arya was shot dead when he refused to surrender.
A man named Rohit Arya, who held 17 children hostage at a theatre in Powai on Thursday, was shot dead by the Mumbai Police after a tense 3.5-hour standoff. Arya claimed in a video before his death that he carried out the act because the Maharashtra government had not paid him ₹2 crore for a cleanliness project. The Education Department, however, denied his claims.
The incident took place at RA Studio in Mahavir Classic, a commercial-cum-residential building in Powai. According to police, Arya lured the children to the theatre by telling them there was an “audition”. He carried an airgun and an inflammable spray when he took the kids hostage.
Police officers surrounded the building and launched a rescue operation that lasted for over three hours. All 17 children were rescued safely, and Arya was shot dead when he refused to surrender.
Before he was shot, Arya recorded a video inside the theatre. In it, he said that he did not intend to harm the children but only wanted to speak to government officials.
In his video message, Arya said, “I am not a terrorist and do not have any monetary demands, and my demands are not immoral at all.” He claimed that he was only seeking the payment of dues he was owed by the Maharashtra Education Department.
Arya said, “My demands are simple and moral and ethical.”
Former Maharashtra Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar confirmed that Arya had worked on a cleanliness awareness project during his tenure. “He was asked to carry out a cleanliness awareness program, Swachhata Monitor, on a pilot basis,” Kesarkar said. He also revealed that he had personally given Arya some money last year after Arya complained about pending dues.
Arya was the Project Director for “Let’s Change – PLA Swachhata Monitor,” which the state’s Primary Education Department adopted in 2022 under the Majhi Shala, Sundar Shala initiative.
According to police, Arya had been protesting since mid-2024 over non-payment. In July, August, and October 2024, he staged sit-ins outside Kesarkar’s official bungalow and at Azad Maidan. He accused the Education Department of using his short films and documentaries promoting cleanliness without giving him credit or payment.
Posts on his project’s Facebook page show that Arya frequently spoke about his grievances and said he had been “wronged” and “forced to protest indefinitely.”
Arya’s wife, Anjali Arya, told the media that her husband had been struggling for months to receive the sanctioned payment for his project, which was approved by Kesarkar.
Police have launched an investigation to verify Arya’s claims and determine the events leading up to the hostage crisis. Officers said they will review financial records and correspondence related to Arya’s project.
The Education Department has strongly denied that any pending payments were due to Arya.
