Mumbai Hostage Case: Rohit Arya Rigged Studio With Motion Sensors And CCTV To Block Cops

New details emerged in the Mumbai hostage case, revealing that the accused Rohit Arya had turned a Powai studio into a high-tech fortress before he was killed in a police rescue operation that freed 17

children and two adults held hostage for six days.

CNN-News18 learnt that Rohit Arya, a 38-year-old YouTuber and schoolteacher from Nagpur, had installed motion-detection sensors and CCTV cameras on all doors and windows to detect any police movement. Investigators said he even redirected all CCTV angles toward one side so that the inside of the studio could not be monitored.

When negotiations failed, Mumbai Police officers entered the building through a bathroom route to surprise the suspect. A brief exchange of fire followed, during which Rohit Arya used the children as human shields. He was shot in the chest and later pronounced dead at a hospital.

After entering the building, officers noticed the sensors and deactivated them. Rohit Arya was communicating with negotiators through a transparent plastic sheet, refusing direct contact, CNN-News18 learnt.

Rohit Arya, the man accused of taking 17 children hostage in Mumbai’s Powai area, died after being injured in an exchange of gunfire with police. According to police, Rohit Arya shot at officers using an air gun during the rescue operation, prompting police to return one round of fire. The bullet hit Rohit Arya on the right side of his chest and he died during treatment. The dramatic confrontation took place inside a small film studio called RA Studios, where Rohit 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.

Before the incident, Rohit 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”.