India, Oct. 31 -- Seventeen children between the ages of 12 and 15, who were called to a studio in Mumbai's Powai on pretext of an audition, were held hostage for three-and-a-half hours Thursday afternoon by a man carrying an airgun and an inflammable spray.

The 50-year-old man, identified as Rohit Arya from Pune, was later shot dead in a massive joint operation launched by the Mumbai police and fire brigade.

As he held the children hostage, Arya released a video in an eerily calm tone where he said he had no intention to hurt the children but wanted to speak to certain people to help him recover Rs.2 crore that the Maharashtra education department owed him. Arya reportedly used to make short films and had worked with Maharashtra govern...