A day after Rohit Arya was shot dead during a police operation in Mumbai’s Powai after he took 17 children hostage, questions are being raised about his work with the Maharashtra education department.
Arya, 50, who held the 17 children and two adults hostage inside RA Studio in the Mumbai suburb of Powai on Thursday, had earlier claimed that his dues for a government project were pending.
He had even staged a protest in Pune last year over the same issue.
On Friday, Maharashtra school education minister Dada Bhuse said he had sought a report on Arya’s association with the department.
“The department appears to have taken action against him. We have sought a detailed report from the department on the work done by him [Arya],” Bhuse told reporters.
Arya’s company, Apsara Entertainment Network, had reportedly run the Swachhta Monitor initiative under Project Let’s Change. The project, operational from 20 July to 2 October, 2023, involved students acting as cleanliness monitors to discourage spitting and littering.
According to a government resolution dated 25 January, 2024, around 64,000 schools and 59 lakh students participated in the programme.
The second phase of the initiative was later carried out under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Shala, Sundar Shala scheme. A total of Rs 20.63 crore was sanctioned for this, of which Rs 2 crore was allocated for Swachhta Monitor phase two, handled by Arya.
Maharashtra’s former school education minister Deepak Kesarkar confirmed Arya’s involvement in the project and said he had provided him financial help.
“I did not default on anyone's payment. The department was of the view that he took money directly from students by opening a website. The department has sought an explanation from him which was necessary,” Kesarkar said on Thursday.
He added that Arya could have raised his demands formally. “Arya could have demanded money from the government and given an explanation for taking money from students. I met him since he used to run the Swachhta campaign,” Kesarkar said.
Bhuse said the department had taken objection to Arya’s act of collecting money from schools. “He had taken money from schools to be a part of it,” the minister said, referring to the Swachhta Monitor project.
Arya’s grievances over unpaid dues had been public for some time. His wife, Anjali Arya, told mediapersons on Thursday that he had been “fighting to get the pending payment for his project.”
She said, “He was the project head for the PLC Swachhta Monitor. Kesarkar saheb liked the project and told him that the state government was sanctioning Rs 2 crore for it. The entire project was completed, but no funds were paid to Rohit. He did not even get recognition.”
In a video released before the police stormed the RA Studio, Arya said he had taken the children hostage as part of a plan and wanted a “conversation” with some people.
The police rescued all 19 hostages after a three-hour operation. Arya succumbed to a bullet injury sustained during the operation.
Arya, once active in public cleanliness campaigns, had reportedly suffered an epileptic attack last year during his indefinite strike in Pune. He was then taken to a hospital by bystanders.