For nearly two hours, police negotiators attempted to reason with Aarrya, who had barricaded himself inside RA Studio, refusing to release the hostages. Even after learning that one of the children suffered from seizures, Aarrya allegedly showed no willingness to cooperate.
“Regardless of his demands, we couldn’t let him play with people’s lives. He fired first at police. Our team fired back in self-defence. There was no other option,” said Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, stressing that officers acted strictly according to protocol and prioritised the hostages’ safety.
According to TOI, egal experts have since called for a mandatory magisterial inquiry into the encounter to verify the police’s account of events.
From activism to violence
While Aarrya’s precise motive remains unclear, his past offers some insight. In 2024, he staged a hunger strike against then-school education minister Deepak Kesarkar of Shiv Sena, alleging non-payment of Rs 2 crore for a government-approved school sanitation project. Kesarkar claimed he had helped Aarrya “out of sympathy” but maintained that the filmmaker had already collected money directly from participants.
According to TOI’s olice sources revealed that Aarrya had been conducting auditions for a web series at the Powai studio for five days leading up to the incident. Thursday was to be the final round of casting, with children arriving from across Maharashtra.
A rapidly rscalating Operation
Chaos erupted around 1:45 p.m. when anxious parents outside the studio raised alarms after their children failed to come out for lunch. An anonymous call brought Powai police to the scene within minutes, with ambulances and fire tenders following. “It was a difficult and sensitive rescue operation,” said DCP Datta Nalawde.After attempts at dialogue failed, officers entered through a bathroom grille to reach the hostages. Police officials told TOI Aarrya fired an air gun, prompting a brief exchange of gunfire. He was struck in the chest and later declared dead at the hospital.
All 19 hostages were rescued safely.
(With inputs from TOI’S Bella Jaisinghani, Richa Pinto & S Ahmed Ali)
