Mumbai: Mumbai’s shocking Powai hostage crisis on October 30, 2025, in which police shot dead Rohit Arya, a man holding 17 children and two adults hostage at RA Studio, has drawn chilling parallels to another tense standoff that gripped the city nearly 17 years ago, the 2008 Rahul Raj bus hijacking incident.
Details On Yesterday's Horror
Yesterday’s events unfolded like a movie scene, eerily mirroring the Yami Gautam film A Thursday, where a teacher holds students hostage to demand justice. The accused, Rohit Arya (50), a self-proclaimed web series director from Nagpur, had invited the children aged 13 to 17 for what he claimed were auditions.
Once they gathered at the Powai studio, Arya locked them inside, released a video threatening to harm the children, end his life and set the studio on fire, unless allowed to speak to specific individuals, including former Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar.
Arya, who allegedly produced an educational film for the state government but was not paid, demanded justice over the unpaid dues. Following tense negotiations, the Mumbai Police launched a swift rescue operation, successfully freeing all hostages. Arya was killed in the crossfire, and the Crime Branch has since taken over the probe.
About 2008 Bus Hijacking Incident
The standoff instantly triggered memories of October 27, 2008, when a 25-year-old youth from Bihar, Rahul Raj, hijacked a BEST bus (Route No. 332) in Andheri. That morning, during peak traffic hours, passengers were horrified when Raj pulled out a gun and iron chain, attacked the conductor, and began firing inside the bus.
Why Did Raj Hijack The Bus?
His target, according to his own words, was Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, whose party workers had, days earlier, assaulted North Indian candidates appearing for railway exams in Mumbai.
The police cordoned off the area and surrounded the bus for over 40 minutes before shooting Rahul dead when he refused to surrender. Then Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil justified the encounter, saying, “If anyone uses a bullet, obviously he would get a bullet.”
The 2008 shooting had sparked a political storm across states, with Bihar leaders including then CM Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan accusing the Maharashtra police of cold-blooded murder and demanding a judicial probe.
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