In the wake of the hostage scare in Mumbai in which 17 children were locked up by a man identified as Rohit Arya in Powai, Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra school education minister Deepak Kesarkar on Thursday said he had personally issued a cheque to Arya and questioned the accused’s claim that he was yet to receive Rs 2 crore dues from the government.
Arya, who had reportedly worked on government initiatives such as Swachh Monitor, Mukhyamantri Majhi Shala, and Sundar Shala, had alleged that his firm had not received dues for work completed under these campaigns. He had also staged protests and a hunger strike in the past, said sources.
Kesarkar said Arya’s Swachhta Monitor scheme was also part of the state government’s ‘My school, beautiful school’ initiative.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, Kesarkar said, “When I was the minister, I personally helped him and gave him a cheque from my account. His claim that Rs 2 crore remains unpaid does not seem accurate. Government payments are made only after the completion of all formalities and documentation.”
“He (Arya) was running a scheme called Swachhta Monitor. He had participated in the state government’s campaign. In that regard, the department was saying that he had directly collected fees from some children. But Arya said he had not collected any such fees. He should have taken up the issue with the education department instead of taking such an extreme step. Holding children hostage is wrong. Government funds are never withheld if the proper process is followed.”
Kesarkar also said that Arya had been associated with a cleanliness monitoring project linked to school initiatives and that there were departmental observations about fee collection, which Arya had denied. “Such disputes should be resolved through official communication, not by taking law into one’s own hands,” said the Shiv Sena leader adding that he was also informed that Arya had collected money directly from some students.
Officials said Arya had earlier demonstrated outside Kesarkar’s residence and the education department’s Pune office in 2024, alleging non-payment for his work.
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According to police, Arya took 17 children hostage inside a Powai studio on Tuesday, claiming the state government had not cleared his dues. During the rescue operation, police opened fire after he allegedly refused to surrender. Arya was killed in the exchange, and all 17 children were rescued safely.
