Nightmare in Powai: How Mumbai Police Raced Against Time to Save 17 Children from a Hostage Horror

It was just another Tuesday evening, you see, at a bustling film studio tucked away in Mumbai's Powai area. A group of seventeen children, their young faces perhaps alight with dreams of the silver screen, were busy on set, likely finishing up for the day. Normalcy, a quiet hum of activity, was the order of things. But then, in a terrifying, abrupt twist, everything changed. A dispute, festering beneath the surface like a slow burn, suddenly erupted, transforming a mundane studio into a scene of unspeakable dread.

The man at the center of this sudden storm was Vinod Kumar Singh, a 30-year-old technician, and frankly, a disgruntled one. His grievance? A payment, he claimed, was due to him from the studio manager. And while we can all understand the frustration of unpaid wages, what happened next was beyond comprehension, a truly desperate act born, one might surmise, from a cocktail of anger and despair. He barricaded himself inside, yes, but he wasn't alone. He had, horrifyingly, locked those seventeen children in with him, turning innocent bystanders into pawns in a very dangerous game.

Around 8:30 PM, the atmosphere outside the M/S Shiv Sena studio—that's the one—shifted from everyday chatter to panic. Parents, who had been waiting, perhaps patiently, for their children, suddenly found themselves confronted with an unimaginable scenario. The doors were locked; their kids were inside, held captive by a man wielding what the police later described as a sharp weapon, a cutter perhaps, or a knife. A frantic call to the Mumbai Police followed, as you can well imagine, and a tense, hour-long standoff began to unfold in the heart of the city.

Senior Inspector Sachin Gaikwad and his team from the Powai police station were on the scene swiftly. They tried, of course, to negotiate. To reason with Singh. But he was resolute, threatening, we're told, to harm the children if anyone dared to enter. Imagine the agonizing minutes, the seconds ticking by, each one laden with fear for those young lives. The parents outside, helpless, no doubt wrung their hands, their hearts pounding in their chests. It was a true test of nerves, for everyone involved.

But the police, they knew time was running out. When negotiations stalled, and the threat inside grew ever more palpable, a difficult decision had to be made. Around 9:30 PM, a full hour after the nightmare began, they stormed the studio. And here's where the bravery, and the danger, truly peaked. As officers burst through, Singh, in a horrific act of desperation, lunged at one of the children with his weapon. A small cut was inflicted, a fleeting moment of terror etched onto a young face. But the police, ready and resolute, acted in an instant.

One officer, precisely and swiftly, fired a single shot. It struck Singh in the leg, incapacitating him, bringing the terrifying ordeal to a dramatic close. The children, all seventeen of them, were quickly rescued, shaken but otherwise safe, save for that one minor injury. Singh, the accused, was immediately apprehended and taken to a hospital for treatment. The relief, you could almost feel it emanating from the studio, a collective exhale from parents, police, and staff alike. A true testament to courage, really, in the face of absolute terror.

The investigation, naturally, is now underway. Singh faces serious charges, including kidnapping, unlawful confinement, assault, and relevant sections of the POCSO Act. For now, Mumbai can breathe a collective sigh of relief, thankful for the swift and decisive action of its police force. A dark evening, for sure, but one that ended, mercifully, with innocent lives saved. And that, in truth, is what truly matters.