‘He worked with big TV channels’: What Mumbai hostage-taker's assistant told cops

MUmbai hostage-taker Rohit Aarrya who held 17 children confined on stalking-horse of try out for a net serial publication role on Thursday had previously worked with several big television channels, his assistant Rohan Aher has revealed.“I had been working with Aarrya since 2012. He had worked with various big TV channels and had gained my confidence,” an earlier HT report quoted Aher.The crime branch recorded Aher’s statement and also took him to the crime scene on Friday, to recreate the sequence of events.What Rohit Aarrya's assistant told copsRohit Aarrya reportedly told the children and Aher that he wanted to make a short film on children rebelling against corruption, and there was a scene in which children would be kidnapped. This, Aarrya hoped, would be a smokescreen for the preparations he was making for the actual hostage situation that was to unfold a couple of days later.Aarrya had meticulously planned hostage situation and had stockpiled food for the children in the event of a long-drawn drama. He also got a broken latch on the studio’s door repaired, and installed CCTV cameras at strategic points on the premises, so that footage would be streamed to his smart phone; he was not privy to the feed of the pre-installed surveillance cameras.“We were out of touch for a long time, but he called me recently and offered me this assignment. He told me he wanted to make a short film on children’s rebellion against corruption and there was a scene in which children would be kidnapped,” said Aher.Father of hostage on what Aarrya told themSachin Jadhav, a farmer from Kolhapur, whose daughter was one of the hostages, said shooting began on Sunday, October 26. “We had got a call from Aarrya to join him on the 25th. We had sent my daughter’s video via WhatsApp and he approved. She had already worked in various short films,” said Jadhav.Jadhav’s mother-in-law, Mangala Patankar, 77, was also held hostage with the children as she had accompanied them to the shoot. When the crisis broke, she locked most of the children in a room, gave them food and water, and kept them calm.“For three days, everything was fine. The children would come to the studio daily, at around 9am. The lunch break was at 1.30pm, and shooting would end at 5pm,” said Patankar.Jadhav said that on Tuesday or Wednesday, things seemed different. Aarrya started covering the studio’s windows with black paper and stuck photos of the children on it. He told us the sunlight was hampering the shoot.“On Thursday, he told the parents he was to shoot a kidnapping scene and even covered the children’s faces with tape,” said a police officer. “But when the children didn’t emerge for lunch and started feeling hungry and 1.50pm, he sent a video to one of the parents, declaring that all the children inside had been held hostage,” the officer added.(With inputs from Vinay Dalvi in Mumbai)