Mumbai hostage scare: Aarrya spent Rs 40L on Swachhta Monitor, says friend; felt ignored, staged protests

PUNE: Rohit Aarrya, who was shot dead on Thursday after he orchestrated the Powai hostage crisis, worked really hard on the Swachhta Monitor initiative, his friend Suraj Lokhande claimed on Friday.“He spent about Rs 40 lakh from his pocket for the project, but did not get recognition for it. He was upset with this and also sought some financial help from the govt, but he did not receive anything. He protested many times for the scheme and funds, but in vain,” Lokhande alleged.Lokhande, a political worker, came in contact with Aarrya in 2022 when the latter fainted at a protest at Navi Peth. “A few others and I moved him to a hospital, and since then we had become friends,” he said.

Aarrya lived in a rented flat at Karvenagar with his wife and son (21). “His wife, who works with a private bank, was transferred to Navi Mumbai a few years ago. The family shifted to Chembur, but he used to frequently visit Pune. He originally hailed from Gujarat,” Lokhande said, adding Aarrya’s parents live in a society at Shivtirthnagar, Kothrud. TOI on Thursday night visited the Shivtirthnagar society where other flat owners said the house was locked since a few days.

Lokhande said Aarrya wanted to work in education, especially for children. “After working hard on Swachhta Monitor, which was successfully implemented in schools across the state, he felt he was not given due credit for it. He protested against govt officials and ministers in Pune and at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. But there was no response,” he said. But “we never thought he would take children hostages.”