Overview
- In the Assembly, opposition leaders said police used avoidable lethal force in the October 30 Powai hostage rescue that left entrepreneur Rohit Arya dead.
- They cited Arya’s video plea for pending payments and questioned why non‑lethal options were not used and why an encounter specialist was on scene.
- Minister of State for Home (Rural) Pankaj Bhoyar said officers acted in self‑defence to protect small children and asserted there was nothing wrong with the police action.
- Bhoyar told lawmakers the Maharashtra Human Rights Commission has ordered an inquiry and that the probe is in progress with accountability to be fixed if required.
- Opposition members linked the episode to alleged unpaid dues from projects Arya worked on, while the government said he was paid Rs 9.90 lakh for two Swachhata Monitor iterations and later collected funds without approval, prompting a demand for return of the money.