Rohit Arya held children hostage in Mumbai, police encounter. Rohit had accused Maharashtra Education Department of not getting Rs 2 crore. Rohit is accused of demanding payment without documents and he was also sitting on dharna at the minister’s house several times.
Who Was Rohit Arya: Mumbai Police on Thursday shot dead Rohit Arya, who had taken 19 people, including 17 children, hostage in the RA Studio building in Powai. Arya called the children for audition and held them hostage by threatening them with air guns and flammable sprays. When none of the children came down for lunch by 1 pm nor were their parents able to go to the theatre, people became suspicious. People living in neighboring buildings also heard children crying and pleading for help from inside the closed windows of the theatre. After which the police reached the spot and encountered Rohit Arya. Let us know some facts related to Rohit Arya.
1- Rohit Arya once used to make short video films
50 year old Rohit Arya was a resident of Pune. Earlier he used to make short video films. Rohit was married, but had no children. Some time ago he had gone to live in his sister’s apartment in Chembur.
2- Accusation of not giving money to Maharashtra Education Department
When Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was in power in Maharashtra, the Education Minister was Deepak Kesarkar. During his tenure, Rohit had got the tender for a school project. But Rohit Arya alleged that he did not receive Rs 2 crore for that project. Initial information is now coming out that when Deepak Kesarkar was a minister, he often protested outside his residence.
3- Rohit had no intention of harming the children
In a video shared on social media, Arya claimed that he had no intention of harming the children and he just wanted to talk to some people who could help him get his money back from the Maharashtra Education Department. However, the Education Department employees said that Arya never deposited any bill and he was exaggerating his point.
4- Protest outside the Education Minister’s house regarding money
A police officer told the media that Rohit Arya had previously sat on a dharna outside the government bungalow of former education minister Deepak Kesarkar on two occasions. For the first time in July-August 2024 and for the second time in October 2024, he had protested against the state education department at Azad Maidan.
5- Arya accused of asking for money without any document
Rohit Arya’s wife Anjali Arya told the media that her husband was struggling to get the sanction payment for his project, which had already been approved by Kesarkar. However, Kesarkar claims that Arya was demanding payment without any documents and he refused to listen to the officials. Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar, who was the Education Minister of Maharashtra from 2022 to 2024, said, as a matter of humanity, I had paid some amount to Rohit from my personal account.