While his wife asserts the debt was real, a former minister has denied any official dues, painting a complex picture behind the tragic standoff. (Image: X/ BBC)
Hours after a tense three-hour hostage situation in Mumbai's Powai ended with police shooting dead 50-year-old Rohit Arya, a picture of a desperate man, not a hardened criminal, began to emerge from the shock of his neighbours and the anguish of his wife. While the police successfully rescued all 17 children he had held captive, the motive behind the meticulously planned ordeal points to a deep-seated grievance over an alleged unpaid government debt.
To those who knew him in Pune and Mumbai, Rohit Arya was remembered as a "calm and composed" individual. He had previously run a small café in Pune called Jelly's Cafe, which shut down a few months ago. Shopkeepers near his former business expressed shock at the news, having only had normal 'hi-bye' interactions with him. A former neighbour from his residence in Pune described him as a soft-spoken and normal person who interacted with others without raising any alarms. This calm persona stands in stark contrast to the man who barricaded himself inside a studio with an air gun and an inflammable spray.
The answer, according to his wife Anjali Arya, was a desperate fight for recognition and payment for a government project. She claims her husband was the head of the 'PLC Swachhta Monitor' project, a cleanliness initiative adopted by the state's primary education department. "Kesarkar saheb had appreciated it and said the government would sanction ₹2 crore for implementation. The work was completed, but Rohit never received the payment, not even formal recognition," Anjali stated after arriving at the scene of the standoff. This alleged non-payment of ₹2 crore is being cited as the central reason for his drastic actions.
The crisis began on Thursday at the RA Studio in the Mahavir Classic building. Arya had reportedly lured the 17 children there under the pretext of an 'audition'. Once inside, he barricaded the premises, leading to a three-hour-long negotiation with the Mumbai Police. At the time, he posted a video explaining his demands. “My demands are simple, moral, and ethical,” he stated. “I am not a terrorist, I have no financial demands, and what I seek is not immoral.” Still, despite his assurances of non-violence, the incident ended when police shot him to stop the danger. He later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
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The claim of unpaid dues is now a point of contention. Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar, who was the school education minister from 2022 to 2024, confirmed that Arya had worked on a pilot cleanliness awareness programme. However, he denied that any official government dues were pending. "During my tenure, I had asked him to conduct a pilot of the Swachhata Monitor project," Kesarkar said. "Last year, I even gave him some money personally after he complained that the education department was withholding his payment." Police reports also indicate that Arya had a history of protesting, having demonstrated outside Kesarkar’s residence and at Azad Maidan several times between July and October 2024.
