Mumbai: In a dramatic rescue operation, a social media channel owner was disarmed of an air gun and detained to free 20 children held “hostage” by him after an audition round at R A Studio in Mumbai’s Powai on Thursday, a police official said.

Rohit Arya had taken the children hostage and circulated a video as part of a plan to force certain individuals to speak to him, failing which he threatened to set the studio building and the hostages on fire, the police said.

The Mumbai Police were alerted after some of the hostages, who attend acting classes on the first floor, managed to wave at passersby and seek help.

The drama ended after senior police officials engaged Arya, who they suspect is mentally unstable, in talks and stormed the premises, said a police official.

“All children have

See Full Page