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‘He was calm and composed’: Rohit Arya’s wife, neighbours recall after Mumbai hostage ordeal
While his wife Anjali Arya said Rohit had been driven to desperation over an “unpaid dues”, those who knew him remembered his “calm and composed” mannerism.
Hours after Rohit Arya was shot dead by the Mumbai Police following a three-hour hostage standoff in Powai, his neighbours expressed shock and disbelief over the meticulously planned ordeal.
While his wife said he had been driven to desperation over an alleged unpaid dues for a government project, those who knew him in Pune and Mumbai remembered his “calm and composed” mannerism.
“He was heading the PLC Swachhta Monitor project. Kesarkar saheb had appreciated it and said the government would sanction ₹2 crore for implementation. The work was completed, but Rohit never received the payment, not even formal recognition,” said Anjali Arya, who reached the scene after learning of the hostage situation.
Arya was killed on Thursday after he held 17 children hostage at RA Studio in Mahavir Classic building, where they had reportedly been called for an ‘audition’.
Carrying an air gun and an inflammable spray, the 50-year-old barricaded himself inside the premises for over three hours. Police later rescued all 17 children unharmed and shot Arya, who succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
‘Calm and composed man’
According to an Indian Express report, Arya had also run a small cafe called the Jelly's Cafe in Pune that shut down a few months ago.
When the English daily spoke to other shopkeepers near the now-shut café, one of them said, “I was not aware of the news. I am completely shocked. We had normal ‘hi-bye’ interactions when he would come and go.”
Another local shopkeeper told the paper that Arya had once mentioned travelling to Mumbai to participate in a protest, though he was unaware of what it was about.
The report further noted that Arya had previously lived in a building near the café before moving out about a year or two ago. A neighbour from his former residence in Pune recalled, “He was a normal person. He used to talk, just like you and I are talking. I did not have much interaction with him.”
Another resident described Arya as calm and soft-spoken. “He was a calm and composed man. He used to interact with us like everyone else. I never thought something like this would happen. I have doubts about the version that has come out in the public,” the resident told the IE.
The ₹2 crore debt
During the negotiation with the authorities, Arya released a video, in which he can be heard saying that he did not intend to harm anyone but wanted to draw attention to the ₹2 crore payment he claimed was owed to him.
“My demands are simple and moral and ethical,” he said, adding, “I am not a terrorist and do not have any monetary demands, and my demands are not immoral at all.”
According to officials, Arya served as Project Director for Project Let’s Change – PLC Swachhata Monitor, which was adopted in 2022 by the state’s primary education department under the Majhi Shala, Sundar Shala initiative.
Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar, who served as Maharashtra’s school education minister from 2022 to 2024, said Arya had indeed worked on a cleanliness awareness programme but denied that any official dues remained unpaid.
“During my tenure, I had asked him to conduct a pilot of the Swachhata Monitor project,” Kesarkar said. “Last year, I even gave him some money personally after he complained that the education department was withholding his payment.”
A police officer told reporters that Arya had repeatedly protested outside Kesarkar’s residence and at Azad Maidan between July and October 2024.
