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Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) Killed Rohit Arya, the man behind the Mumbai studio hostage drama, was apparently motivated to take the step to recover Rs 2 crore he owed under a project for the school education department during the tenure of former Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar.
Arya died of gunshot wounds following a dramatic shootout at RA Studios in Powai, where he held 19 people, including 17 teenage acting auditioners, hostage for two hours around 1.45 pm on Thursday, police said.
It seems he was trying to get the attention of influential government functionaries, including Kesarkar, to release his payment of Rs 2 crore in 2023 for the work done in a school project called “Sanitation Monitor”.
Sources said Arya, a resident of Pune, had earlier tried to raise the issue several times to draw the attention of the authorities towards his pending dues, but without success.
During the hostage drama on Thursday, he released a video message saying, “I am not a terrorist… nor am I asking for money. I want to talk to some people.”
He also revealed that he was forced to commit suicide, but instead of taking his own life, he was trying to reach people he wanted to talk to through a “hostage scheme”.
Police said the kidnapper claimed he was forced to take the step to force some people to talk to him, failing which he threatened to set fire to the studio building and the hostages.
The hostage drama ended with the rescue of 17 children and two others and Arya succumbing to gunshot wounds in the hospital.
Former state school education minister Kesarkar clarified that his name was being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy.
“Rohit Arya came up with a concept called ‘Swachhata Monitor’ and was given a contract under the ‘My School is a Beautiful School’ campaign. However, he was involved in some direct monetary transactions,” he told reporters.
Kesarkar said, “He should have talked to the department and resolved the matter as he was doing official work… because there are certain protocols in such official processes.”
“Holding people hostage is not a solution because we all need to work within the set norms,” Kesarkar said.
Police said Arya was an employee of the studio where he held 17 children hostage and appeared to be mentally unstable.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade said police were forced to enter the studio after entering through the toilet window, as Arya showed no signs of releasing the hostages.
Police said the firing was initiated by Arya, who opened fire on the policemen with his air gun.
Arya, who died during treatment at the hospital, was carrying an air gun, chemicals and a lighter, which he had threatened to use to set the building on fire if his demand to talk to Kesarkar and others was not met.
Mumbai Police were alerted to the illegal imprisonment drama when some of the hostages attending acting classes on the first floor managed to wave to passersby asking for help.
The 30-minute operation to end the hostage drama led to panic in the Powai area as police formed a security cordon around the studio and asked people to vacate the area.
Due to fear of terrorist attack, Quick Reaction Team (QRT) was also sent to the spot.
The police said that the studio where the play was staged is popular for acting classes and around 100 children had come to audition in the morning, following which Arya plotted the “hostage episode”.
–IANS
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