Pune: Last Rites of Mumbai Hostage Tragedy Victim Rohit Aarrya Performed in Navi Peth
Pune: The last rites of Rohit Aarrya, who was shot dead by Mumbai police in Powai after he allegedly held 17 children and others, including a senior citizen, hostage, were performed at the Vaikunth crematorium in Navi Peth around 2.30 am on Saturday.
Pradip Kasbe, senior police inspector of Vishrambaug police station, told TOI that Aarrya's wife, son, brother-in-law, and other relatives among 10-12 people attended the cremation. "There was no official communication from Mumbai police or the family. We learnt about the funeral through our own sources and deployed a team at the crematorium," he said.
Since the family was not in a condition to speak, it was unclear whether they themselves chose the odd time for cremation. The postmortem was conducted on Friday evening at Mumbai's JJ Hospital before the body was brought to Pune. The family refused to interact with media personnel gathered at the crematorium on Saturday.
Aarrya earlier lived in a rented flat in the Girija Shankar Vihar area of Karvenagar with his wife until October last year. His wife ran a café in the area but shut it down within months due to poor response. In October, he shifted to Shivteerthnagar in Kothrud and rented a flat, with a 36-month agreement in his wife's name, after his rent agreement for a Karvenagar flat was over. Within a month, the owner asked the couple to vacate the flat following complaints from society members about their alleged inappropriate behavior over various issues, including disputes related to parking.
However, Aarrya refused to vacate and sought financial compensation from the owner, who later issued a legal notice to the couple through his lawyer. The dispute ended in May this year after the couple vacated the house and shifted to Mumbai. His elderly parents continue to live in their own flat located in Shivteerthnagar, near the society where Rohit had rented a house. Police said they were not in Pune when the hostage incident occurred and they did not turn up for the cremation.
Sandeep Deshmane, senior police inspector of Kothrud police station, told TOI: "Though his parents live in Kothrud, they are not in the city and we have not been able to communicate with them. As per the preliminary information, Aarrya moved out of Pune around six months ago."
In a video recorded before the incident on Thursday, Aarrya alleged that the state government owed him Rs 2 crore for a project named ‘Swachhata Monitor' and he did not receive recognition for it. Around a year ago, he staged a protest on the Pune Union of Working Journalists building premises over the same issue, during which he suffered a seizure and was hospitalised.
