Police in Mumbai say they have safely rescued 17 children and two adults from a man who claimed to have taken them hostage at an acting school where the children had gathered for an audition, BBC reported.

The official said officers first tried to negotiate with the hostage-taker but as he was "adamant", they "used force" to enter the building in the busy Powai neighbourhood.

Officers entered the studio through the bathroom window and later said they had found an airgun and an unspecified chemical.

The suspect, named by police as Rohit Arya, was shot during the rescue operation and later died in hospital, police said, according to BBC.