The Maharashtra government denied Rohit Arya's claims, who was shot dead on Thursday by Mumbai Police for holding 17 children hostage and threatening to burn down. The state has issued clarification on the video of Arya in which he said committing this crime over the 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 by the state 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 Money Control.
Also Read | Mumbai: Rohit Arya, Who Held 17 Children Hostage in Powai, Shot Dead by Police.
According to Arya, his campaign was used as the basis for the PLC Swachhata 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 accused Arya and his organisation has continuing 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.
Kesar said 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. He said he 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's wife Anjali, told the media that her husband was fighting to get the pending amount for his project. She said he was the project head for the PLC Swachhta Monitor. Then education minister Kesarkar liked the project and told him that he 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.