Ex-minister had refused call to speak to hostage taker Rohit Arya during crisis

Mumbai,UPDATED: Nov 4, 2025 13:09 IST

Former Maharashtra cabinet minister and Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar has confirmed that he was contacted by the police during the Powai hostage crisis on October 30, when Rohit Arya had demanded to speak to him. Kesarkar, however, declined to speak to Arya at the time, saying he believed the matter was related to the Education Department and that concerned officials were better placed to address it.

CALL FROM POLICE DURING THE HOSTAGE SITUATION

The tense standoff at a Powai studio had lasted nearly three hours, during which Arya, who had taken 17 children and a few adults hostage, insisted on speaking to Kesarkar.

Police officials, including a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), had called Kesarkar in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Kesarkar has now said that he refused the request, assuming it was a matter of pending dues and not a life-threatening situation.

“I realised that the issue was regarding the pendency of dues. So I told the police team that they should connect Arya to the official concerned in the Education Department,” Kesarkar said. “I did not realise the matter would become so serious,” he added in hindsight.

BACKGROUND TO THE HOSTAGE DRAMA

Rohit Arya had accused Kesarkar of non-payment of dues for work allegedly done for the Education Department in 2022, when Kesarkar was the minister. In a video released before the standoff, Arya claimed that the government owed him Rs 2 crore and said he wanted to “question certain people” about the delay in payment.

The situation escalated when Arya locked himself inside a studio, holding children and adults hostage, and threatened to burn the place down using chemicals. He was reportedly armed with an air rifle. The crisis ended after police entered the studio through a bathroom window, and a policeman shot Arya, ending the standoff.

CASE TRANSFERRED TO CRIME BRANCH

Following the incident, the investigation was handed over to the Crime Branch, which is expected to summon Kesarkar for his statement. So far, investigators have recorded the statements of the hostages and the studio owner.

PLEA FILED IN BOMBAY HIGH COURT

Meanwhile, a criminal writ petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court, seeking an impartial probe into Arya’s death, which the petitioner alleges was a “fake encounter.”

The petition, filed by lawyer Shobha Buddhivant through advocate Nitin Satpute, claims that Arya was “murdered in the name of a fake encounter under the pretext of self-defence.” It further alleges that the killing was done “at the behest of a political leader,” terming it a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

Satpute said he had earlier written to the Chief Justice and approached the local police station to register an FIR but was denied. He has also reached out to the Human Rights Commission.

The plea warns that if such incidents go unchecked, it could lead to “police hooliganism.” It seeks a CBI investigation into the case, along with narco-analysis, lie detector, and brain mapping tests of the police officers involved.

The petition is expected to come up for hearing before a division bench of the Bombay High Court in due course.

- Ends