7 months ago
2
Mumbai connected Thursday (October 30, 2025) witnessed a tense concern wherever several children were held captive, possibly for the archetypal time, but the metropolis is nary alien to hostage crises, which successful the past person pushed it to the borderline and tested constabulary ratio successful non-terror cases.
Police successfully concluded a astir three-hour-long melodramatic hostage situation, safely rescuing 17 children and 2 adults held astatine a workplace successful the Powai country by a idiosyncratic who died from a slug wounded sustained during constabulary action.
Read the afloat story: 19 hostages rescued from Mumbai studio, captor changeable dormant by police
The tense play unfolded astir 1:30 p.m. aft the Powai constabulary presumption received an alert that a person, identified arsenic Rohit Arya (50), had taken 17 children hostage wrong RA Studio successful the Mahavir Classic building. The children, boys and girls betwixt the ages of 10 and 12, had been called to the workplace for an audition for a web bid that had been ongoing for 2 days.
This whitethorn beryllium the archetypal of its benignant concern successful caller years successful which a ample fig of children were held hostage, a constabulary authoritative said.
Similar incidents
In the past decennary oregon so, the fiscal superior has witnessed aggregate hostage-taking scenarios.
2010 Andheri hostage incident
In March 2010, a retired customs officer, Harish Marolia, had taken a 14-year-old miss hostage successful suburban Andheri (West). The 60-year-old had held the girl, Himani, captive successful his flat. Marolia had taken the measurement aft an altercation with members of the lodging nine wherever the 2 resided, the authoritative recalled.
Minutes earlier taking the miss hostage, Marolia had objected to operation enactment connected 1 of the floors successful his building. He had besides threatened the lodging society’s caput by firing successful the air.
The hostage play came to a convulsive extremity erstwhile Marolia killed the teen and was besides subsequently changeable dormant by police.
2008 double-decker autobus hostage incident
In November 2008, a 25-year-old gunman from Bihar, Rahul Raj, held commuters successful a double-decker civic-run autobus hostage during the vehicle’s travel from Andheri. As the autobus reached Bail Bazar successful Kurla, astir 100 policemen surrounded the bus.
When constabulary asked Raj to surrender, helium threw a currency enactment astatine them connected which helium had written that helium had travel to “kill” Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray, whose enactment had launched an anti-migrant agitation successful Mumbai targeting North Indians.
Police changeable dormant the 25-year-old, bringing an extremity to the crisis.
Nagpur Assistant Commissioner of Police connected erstwhile hostage situations
“In hostage situations, the astir important happening is to prevention the beingness and guarantee minimum damage. Negotiations are done keeping these 2 objectives successful mind,” Shailni Sharma, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Nagpur, explained portion talking to PTI over the phone.
Ms. Sharma was the archetypal pistillate serviceman of the Mumbai constabulary who was sent for grooming to London for handling hostage situations aft the 26/11 Mumbai panic attacks.
She was besides called to bid National Security Guard (NSG) commandos successful 2022 successful successfully handling hostage scenarios.
“When determination is nary headway successful negotiations (with the hostage-taker), the cognition squad takes decisions arsenic per the request of the time,” Ms. Sharma said.
In the 2010 Andheri hostage incident, Ms. Sharma was called to negociate with Marolia, but by then, a constabulary squad had barged wrong the level wherever helium had taken the miss captive and opened occurrence astatine her.
In 2013 and 2017, the constabulary serviceman saved 2 women, who were trying to extremity their lives, by talking and convincing them not to instrumentality the utmost step.
During anti-CAA and NRC protests successful Mumbai, Ms. Sharma was posted arsenic elder constabulary inspector successful Nagpada and handled the agitations done talks.
