Mumbai Shock: YouTuber Kidnaps 17 Children in Powai, Police Foil Plan
In what appeared to be a scene straight out of a Bollywood thriller, the Mumbai Police mounted a swift rescue operation, freeing 17 children, who were held hostage in a studio in Mumbai’s Powai on October 30.
The suspect, identified as Rohit Arya, lured the children under the pretext of holding auditions at a studio in the Mahavir Classik building. He reportedly ran a YouTube channel and had been conducting auditions daily from 10 am to 8 pm, drawing children and their families.
On the day of the incident, Arya released a chilling video message in which he declared that his demands were “moral and ethical,” not financial. He asserted that he was not a terrorist.
“A slightest wrong move from your end will trigger me to set this entire place on fire and die in it… Please do not trigger me to do harm to anybody,” he warned.
Police said Arya had permitted around 80 children to leave the premises but held back 17 children alongside a senior citizen and another civilian.
During the rescue, officers breached the studio through a bathroom. Air-guns and chemicals were recovered from the scene.
Authorities are investigating whether Arya was mentally unstable; he had apparently posted that he was “not a terrorist, just want moral answers.” The children, aged around 15, were safely reunited with their guardians.
This dramatic incident raises urgent questions about the safety of children in audition-settings, and the rapid, coordinated response by Mumbai police prevented what could have become a full-blown tragedy.
BREAKING:
"Rohit Arya", a man in Mumbai’s Powai, allegedly held several children hostage and released a video in which he said he wanted to speak with specific people. In the clip he threatened to set the premises ablaze and to harm himself and the children if he was prevented… pic.twitter.com/xSmStLGne0
— Pooja (@Poojakhandal001) October 30, 2025
