Mumbai hostage-taker Rohit Aarrya cremated in Pune

Pune: The mortal remains of Rohit Aarrya, who was shot dead by Mumbai Police after he held 17 teenagers hostage in a Powai studio during a web series shoot, were cremated in Pune early Saturday, police said.

Police officers added that Aarrya preferred using the surname ‘Aarrya’ instead of his family name, Harolikar.

Aarrya, 50, had held 17 persons, including 16 schoolchildren between the ages of 10 and 12, along with an adult, inside a recording studio in Mumbai’s Powai locality on Thursday. The tense three-hour standoff ended when police rescued all hostages and gunned him down.