When reel became real: Arya had told crew they were going to shoot children hostage situation
Mumbai (PTI): Rohit Arya had told his film crew that they were going to shoot a hostage drama involving children, without providing any inkling that he was planning a real-life situation which was to end in a tragedy, his videographer said on Friday.
Arya took 17 children and two adults hostage inside R A Studio in Powai on Thursday before being shot dead by police during a rescue operation.
Videographer Rohan Aher, who had been working with Arya for the last 10 years and was a prime witness during the three-hour drama, recounted the sequence of events before the media.
The auditions which Arya was conducting at a studio in Powai, ostensibly for a web series, had got over by Wednesday, but Arya extended them by another day, he said.
Aher had shot films for Arya's initiatives including `Swachhta Monitor' and `Lets Change' projects, he said.
On Wednesday, Arya told him that they were going to shoot a hostage situation involving children, Aher said. Arya also asked him to bring five liters of petrol and firecrackers for the shoot, but Aher did not follow the instructions as there were going to be children in the studio, he said.
When Aher reached the studio on Thursday morning, a spot boy told him nobody was allowed to go into the studio upstairs. After some time, Arya himself came down, and told him they wanted to shoot a scene involving fire, and he had brought bottles of rubber solution for the purpose, Aher said.
Arya also asked him to lock the gate and all the entry points of the studio. Subsequently, Arya poured the rubber solution and set it on fire in front of the children, he said.
Aher and others were scared and asked him not to do it, so Arya, wielding an air gun, asked Aher to stay away. Aher ran out of the studio and told the people standing outside they should call police, he said.
He then went upstairs and broke a glass window of the studio with a hammer (in an attempt to rescue the children inside), sustaining an injury to his hand, Aher said, adding that Arya sprayed pepper spray into his eyes, making him fall down the staircase.
Aher, however, helped a senior citizen woman who was inside to come out, and she too sustained a head injury in the process, he said.
In the meantime, police had reached the spot and started negotiations with Arya.
Aher again sneaked into the studio and asked the children to get out with him, but four children remained inside, he said.
By this time the police had forced entry into the studio.
When Aher returned to bring out the remaining children, he heard gunfire, he said, adding he did not remember how many shots he heard.
As per the police, Arya fired an air gun at them, and was hit in the chest in retaliatory firing. He was declared dead in hospital.
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BJP to resolve decades-old Gorkha issue within 6 months of forming govt in Bengal: Shah
Kurseong (WB) (PTI): Seeking to strike an emotional chord with the politically crucial hill electorate, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday promised that the BJP would resolve the decades-old Gorkha issue within six months if the BJP comes to power in West Bengal.
He said no party other than the BJP could find a solution acceptable to the Gorkhas.
Addressing a rally at Kurseong in Darjeeling district, Shah said the BJP understands the concerns and aspirations of the Gorkhas and would work towards a settlement on their terms.
"Within six months of the BJP forming the government in West Bengal, every Gorkha will have a smile on his face. We will find such a solution to the Gorkha issue that Gorkhas can live in peace," he said.
The Gorkha issue refers to the century-old demand for a separate state in the Gorkha-majority hill districts of north Bengal, although Shah did not utter the words 'Gorkhaland' or 'statehood' in his speech.
Instead, echoing the BJP's long-standing promise of a "permanent political solution" to the hill question, Shah said the issue would be resolved in accordance with the aspirations of the Gorkhas.
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"I am leaving today after promising you that as soon as the BJP government is formed, the decades-old Gorkha issue will be resolved according to the Gorkhas' terms," he said.
The BJP, which has won the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat in every election since 2009, has consistently promised a permanent political solution to the hill issue without committing itself to a separate state.
The home minister accused the Mamata Banerjee government of refusing to engage with efforts to resolve the issue and said that after becoming home minister, he had convened three meetings on the matter.
"After becoming home minister, I convened three major meetings to resolve the Gorkha issue, but not even once did a representative from Mamata's side attend," Shah said.
"Mamata Didi, we are not dependent on you for a solution to the Gorkha issue. We have appointed an interlocutor who is preparing a report by engaging with Gorkha organisations here and officials of the West Bengal government," he added.
Claiming that the BJP alone understands the concerns of the hill residents, Shah said, "We understand you and your problems. No one except the BJP can resolve the Gorkha issue."
The home minister alleged that the Congress and the TMC had betrayed the people of the hills for decades.
"The Congress and the TMC have done injustice not only to Darjeeling but also to our patriotic Gorkha brothers," he said.
Seeking to broaden the BJP's pitch beyond the Gorkha issue, Shah sought to portray the election as a battle to free north Bengal and the hills from what he called years of neglect and injustice under the TMC rule.
"This election is to free the entire West Bengal from TMC's crimes. In a way, it is an election to gain freedom from the injustice happening for decades in north Bengal and Darjeeling," he said.
Referring to the Sandeshkhali controversy, Shah said, "The whole of West Bengal has decided that it is time for Didi to step down. This election is about protecting our sisters across the state. The Sandeshkhali incident has brought shame to the state."
The BJP leader told the gathering that while Darjeeling had repeatedly backed the BJP, the party needed support from the rest of West Bengal this time.
"For three elections, Darjeeling has been voting for the BJP anyway, but the rest of West Bengal did not provide as much support. But this time, the whole of West Bengal has made up its mind that it's time to oust Didi," he said.
Shah also raised the issue of Gorkhas' names being allegedly deleted from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
"The names of some Gorkhas were deleted during SIR. Once the BJP government is formed in West Bengal, all such names will be included in the electoral rolls again," he said.
He further alleged that hundreds of false cases had been slapped on Gorkha activists and promised that these would be withdrawn if the BJP formed the government.
"They have filed hundreds of false cases against our Gorkha brothers and sisters. The results will come out on May 4, and a BJP government will be formed on May 5. Before July 31, the BJP government in West Bengal will withdraw all cases against Gorkha brothers and sisters," Shah said.
The home minister also attacked the Mamata Banerjee government over budgetary allocations for the tribals.
"For tribal development, for Adivasis, for the hills, and for north Bengal, the Mamata government's total budget is Rs 2,000 crore. But for Muslims and madrasas, the Mamata government's budget is Rs 5,800 crore. This injustice will not last much longer," he said.
The demand for Gorkhaland and greater political autonomy for the Darjeeling hills has remained one of the most enduring and emotive political issues in north Bengal, often shaping electoral outcomes in the region.
Successive agitations -- from the Subhash Ghising-led GNLF movement in the 1980s to the later stir spearheaded by Bimal Gurung and the GJM, have repeatedly convulsed the hills.
Yet, despite the BJP's rise in Darjeeling and its continued dominance in the Lok Sabha seat since 2009, the party has so far stopped short of endorsing a separate state as it would have an adverse impact on south Bengal, preferring instead to speak of a "permanent political solution".
