He called 17 kids for ‘audition’, then took them hostage. Rohit Aarrya & his beef with Maharashtra govt

‘I don’t think he was a contractor but a terrorist,’ says Maharashtra minister about Aarrya, who held 17 children and two others hostage. Aarya was killed in the rescue operation that followed.

Building in Mumbai's Powai where 17 children were held hostage; inset: Rohit Aaryya | ANI

Mumbai: Rohit Aarrya was a project consultant and social entrepreneur who’d once been a part of Maharashtra government’s cleanliness campaigns for state-run schools. That is, until Thursday, when the 50-year-old was shot dead by Mumbai police during a hostage situation. Aarrya had taken 17 children and two others hostage at a Powai studio.

Besides the video released by him as the studio siege was underway, multiple complaints and letters to journalists show Aarrya was consumed by what he believed was the Maharashtra government’s betrayal. Letters written by Aarrya and accessed by ThePrint suggest he was distressed and blamed former state education minister Deepak Kesarkar and few officials from the government’s education department.

Aarrya had also previously protested outside Kesarkar’s residence demanding his dues. He said in the video released Thursday afternoon he didn’t want to hurt the children, and merely wanted to speak to some people who would help him recover Rs 2 crore that the Maharashtra education department owed him. “Instead of dying by suicide, I have made some plans and have held the children hostage here. My demands are not many…my demands are simple and moral and ethical… I am not a terrorist…” he is heard saying.

The over three-hour siege ended with police forcing entry through a bathroom and shooting at Aarrya, who was allegedly found making threats with an air gun. Aarrya died of his injuries at a hospital soon after. State Industries Minister Uday Samant congratulated Mumbai police for the rescue operation and told media Friday, “He (Aarrya) held 19 people hostage and threatened to burn them. I don’t think he was a contractor but a terrorist.”

Police deployed outside Powai studio where intense hostage situation played out Thursday | ANI

But Opposition parties are pointing to Aarrya’s link with government campaigns in the past.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, “What Rohit Aarrya did was condemnable. This cannot be justified. But it is the Mahayuti government that led him to this path, made him mentally ill, and led him to this situation.”

‘They accuse me of covering up their mistakes’

Rohit Aarrya, who ran the company Apsara Media, was project director of ‘Project Let’s Change (PLC)’, an initiative powered by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds and approved by the state government in 2022.

Early last year, Apsara was among groups tasked with implementing the second phase of Maharashtra government’s ‘Swacchata Monitor’ campaign, which came under PLC.

Swachhata Monitor was a key component of the chief minister’s flagship initiative, Mukhyamantri Majhi Shala Sundar Shala (My School, Beautiful School), to promote cleanliness, hygiene and beautification across state-run schools in Maharashtra.

To that effect, a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the education department in January 2024 advised officials to coordinate with PLC representatives, including Aarrya, to organize district-level workshops for the campaign.

“Out of the provision of Rs 20.63 crore, a fund of Rs 2 crore is approved by the government for implementation of the Swachhata Monitor Phase-II campaign,” the GR notes, while also mentioning Aarrya’s role in implementing the second phase of the campaign.

Reacting to allegations levelled by Aarrya, former minister Kesarkar told the media, “Rohit Aarrya’s ‘Swachhata Monitor’ was a concept under the government’s ‘Mera School Swachh School’ (My School, Clean School) scheme. Under this initiative, he had contacted some schools and collected money from them, according to the School Education Department.”

“If there was any issue regarding bills or payments, he should have taken it up with the department concerned and resolved it through proper channels. The government has a defined procedure for all its work, and it functions strictly as per those procedures. What happened now is wrong,” the Shiv Sena leader added.

The school education department too issued a clarification. In a press note, it said, “Apsara Media Entertainment network, without the knowledge of school department, had started collecting funds from school in 2024-25 via their personal website. When this was found, on August 23, 2024, it was being conveyed to the Pune department that the funds need to be collected in the government department and make sure that the company doesn’t collect any more funds in the name of the project. But Aarrya did not give any further information on this and hence the school department did not proceed with any action.”

Forensic van outside Powai studio where Aarrya held 17 children and two others hostage | ANI

In multiple letters written in 2024, Aarrya had accused officials of sidelining him, withholding funds, and exploiting his concept without acknowledgement or payment. He also accused them of not giving him due credit for the concept.

“The School Education Department is doing injustice to me and my PLC Cleanliness Monitor. For this, I had been on a hunger strike since 24 July. On the night of 3 August, Minister Deepak Kesarkar came home and assured me my demands were justified and he would resolve the matter by 5 August. I respected him and ended my hunger strike,” he wrote in a letter written to Pune journalists in August 2024.

The letter, while stating that Kesarkar intervened and promised to resolve the issue, accused officials from the department of trying to conspire against Aarrya. 

“They were inclined to not let me implement my resolution as per the GR. Various things were being done to stop me, mainly not providing the budget. That means I will not get paid again. The concept will also have to be compromised,” he wrote. Aarrya said in his letter that he had been developing concepts since 2013 for which he used his own funds most of the time, but government officials sidelined and exploited him.

“Since 2013, I have come up with many concepts, invested time and money. But as I grew, many people made money by leaving me aside. There was fraud. There are still court battles going on for this. Enough is enough. There is no end in sight except my end.”

He also alleged that while the government had adopted his campaign model, it accused him of collecting registration fees from schools for what was now being called a state-run initiative. Money was not paid as per the first proposal, he alleged, but the Swachhata Monitor has also been included in the second ‘My School, Beautiful School’ campaign.

“I worked hard for two years, and succeeded in convincing many schools that Swachhata Monitor is not a usual cleanliness campaign. I made it popular and suddenly I was thrown out. Everyone knows that Swachhata Monitor is my concept. My campaign has a website where schools can register. It is clear the government is using my campaign unethically, but on the contrary, they are accusing me to cover up the mistakes they made.”

In his apparent last letter, he even spoke about taking extreme steps. “No matter what happens to me, I should not undergo any treatment. Unfortunately, if anything untoward happens, Minister Shri Deepak Kesarkar, his PS Mangesh Shinde, School Education Department Commissioner Suraj Mandhare, Sameer Sawant and Tushar Mahajan are fully responsible,” it said. “I want a full investigation into all decisions taken by the School Education Department since 2022 to check whether they were made in accordance with guidelines.”

(Edited by Prerna Madan)