MUMBAI: Former school education minister Deepak Kesarkar refused to speak to hostage-taker Rohit Aarya, who insisted on talking to him as hostage negotiations dragged on for more than two hours last Thursday.
During this nerve-wracking period, Aarrya held 17 children and two adults hostage inside RA Studio in Powai. Armed with what turned out to be an air gun and flammable liquid, he had threatened to set the studio on fire if his “simple” demands were not met.
Aarya, who was later shot dead by the police, had specifically asked to speak with Kesarkar. Investigators believe he was holding the children hostage as leverage to secure a commitment on payment of dues he claimed were owed to him.
Aarya had been assigned various projects by the state education department, then headed by Kesarkar but, on Thursday, the politician was categorical that he did not want to speak to the 50-year-old hostage-taker.
“How could I take the risk (of talking to Aarrya), when the lives of so many children were at stake,” Kesarkar said. He told HT that he had told the police who had phoned him during the negotiations that he was no longer education minister and that it was the government that could address Aarrya’s grievances.
The Mumbai crime branch is likely to record Kesarkar’s statement in this regard.
“From 2pm to 4pm, police teams were negotiating with Aarrya to secure the release of the children. He had asked the children to speak to their parents and tell them they were afraid. He also told the police that his problems related to the education department and he had in the past met then education minister, Deepak Kesarkar,” said a police officer.
Deputy commissioner of police Dattatray Nalawade and the Powai senior police inspector, who were negotiating with Aarrya, had contacted Kesarkar, but he turned down their request to speak with Aarrya.
Actors’ statements to be recorded
The Mumbai crime branch will be recording the statements of Marathi actors Girish Oak and Urmilla Kothare, who had attended an event hosted by Aarrya at RA Studio a couple of days before the hostage crisis.
“We want to know what Aarrya told them,” said a crime branch officer.
Police said they have recorded the statement of Manish Agarwal, owner of RA Studio. They have once again recorded the statement of Amol Waghmare, the Powai police officer who shot Aarrya dead, and taken statements from several parents.
“We have not yet recorded the statements of Aarya’s family. They have asked for a little more time they are grieving and we understand that,” said a senior officer.
Aarrya, who was married, had settled in Gujarat but returned to Pune, and had checked into a hotel in Mumbai before he took 19 people hostage last week.
“We will understand him better after we record the statements of people close to him,” said a crime branch officer. Police are also looking into Aarrya’s health status and his financial records.