What began as what appeared to be a film shoot at Mumbai’s R.K. Studio in Powai on Thursday turned into a real-life hostage crisis, one that seemed scripted straight out of a thriller. Police said Rohit Arya, a filmmaker and former project director in a state cleanliness campaign, had meticulously planned every detail of the siege that ended with his death in a police encounter.
Arya held 17 children and two adults hostage for over three hours, demanding to speak with Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar, whom he accused of cheating him out of project dues. The standoff ended dramatically when police stormed the studio. A single shot fired by Assistant Police Inspector Amol Waghmare struck Arya in the chest, killing him instantly.
Eyewitness Rohan Aaher, who was present during the ordeal, told TV9 Marathi that Arya’s plan was “not spontaneous at all, but completely premeditated.” “He told us during the auditions that he wanted to shoot a scene about children being kidnapped,” Aaher said. “We thought it was part of the script, no one imagined he meant to carry it out.”
According to Aaher, Arya had booked R.K. Studio through JustDial under the guise of a film project and had installed CCTV cameras inside and outside the studio, linking them to his phone for live surveillance. He even brought petrol, rubber solution, and other flammable materials into the premises. “When I tried to go near the kids, he warned me he would burn them alive if anyone came closer. He had welded the doors shut so no one could escape,” Aaher recalled.
When Aaher realised the gravity of the situation, he alerted parents and urged them to call the police. During the subsequent rescue operation, he assisted officers in evacuating the children and suffered injuries from broken glass. “The police acted fast. If they hadn’t, it could have been far worse,” Aaher said.
Investigators later learned that Arya had been associated with a state-run cleanliness campaign, ‘Swachhata Doot’ (Cleanliness Messenger), under the School Education Department. He allegedly recruited the children for what he described as a film training project, using WhatsApp groups linked to the initiative.
Police sources said Arya had originally booked the studio until October 29 but extended it by a day. On the morning of the incident, he messaged Aaher asking for five litres of petrol and Diwali firecrackers, claiming they were props for a “fire sequence.” Aaher complied with the firecrackers but refused to bring petrol since the children were already present.
Shortly after everyone assembled, Arya locked the studio, poured rubber solution on a cloth, and threatened to set it ablaze. The scene quickly escalated into panic. The standoff ended after repeated negotiations failed and Arya allegedly made threatening movements towards the hostages. Police fired a single round, rescuing all 19 captives unharmed. Authorities said Arya’s grievance with the government over unpaid dues from a sanitation awareness project appears to have been a key motive.
