Mumbai hostage scare: Maharashtra govt denies Rohit Arya's claim of Rs 2 crore dues from govt

Rohit Arya held children hostage in a shocking standoff on Thursday

The Maharashtra government has issued detailed clarification denying the claims of Rohit Arya who was shot dead by Mumbai police after he took 17 children hostage.

In his last video, Arya said he was committing the act over payment of "dues" from the state government.  "I am not a terrorist and do not have any monetary demands, and my demands are not immoral at all,” he said.

In an official release as quoted by News18, the government said that Arya’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) project ‘Swachhta Monitor’ was approved only once in 2021 with funding of Rs 9 lakh, but its subsequent versions, ‘Swachhta Monitor 2.0’ and a Rs 6.14 crore proposal for 2024–25, were never sanctioned.

According to Arya, he had been facing false allegations. Arya claimed that his campaign was used as the basis for the PLC Swachhta Monitor programme launched in 2022. He claimed that he was sidelined once the initiative was adopted by the state. Arya had served as Project Director for Project Let's Change - PLA Swachhata Monitor.

“The CSR project ‘Swachhta Monitor’ was approved only in 2021 with Rs 9 lakh funding, but its later versions, including ‘Swachhta Monitor 2.0’ and the Rs 6.14 crore 2024–25 proposal, were never sanctioned," the release stated.

The state government said Arya's organisation continued activities privately without authorisation and without approval to collect funds from schools.

Former Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar on Thursday said he had given financial help to  Arya.

Kesarkartold PTI that Arya had been a project director in an initiative run by the education department, took money from school students through a website and the department had taken objection to it.

Notably, Arya had staged a protest in Pune last year for his `pending dues' from the education department.

He had met Arya and even offered him financial help after he  complained that the department had defaulted on a payment due to him, Kesarkar said.

"I did not default on anyone's payment. I helped him through a cheque out of courtesy. 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.
Arya could have demanded money from the government and given explanation for taking money from students, the former minister said.

Arya's wife, Anjali, had told mediapersons that her husband had been fighting to get the pending payment for his project.

"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," she had alleged.