Mumbai hostage crisis: Last rites of hostage-taker Rohit Arya performed in Pune

The last rites of Rohit Arya, who was gunned down by Mumbai police after he took 19 people hostage, were performed in Pune in the early on Saturday.

Arya, 50, had held 17 children aged between 10 and 12, and two adults hostage at a studio in Mumbai’s Powai area on Thursday. The three-hour standoff ended with police rescuing all hostages.

After post-mortem at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital, Arya’s body was taken to Pune where the rites were conducted in the presence of his wife, son, and close family members.

According to police sources, Arya had been living away from Pune for some time. Preliminary information suggests he had very little contact with his family in recent years.

Arya had earlier claimed that dues for a project undertaken for the Maharashtra education department were pending, and had staged a protest over it in Pune.