In the wake of the hostage scare in Mumbai in which 17 children were locked up by a man identified as Rohit Arya in Powai, Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra school education minister Deepak Kesarkar on Thursday said he had personally issued a cheque to Arya and questioned the accused’s claim that he was yet to receive Rs 2 crore dues from the government.

Arya, who had reportedly worked on government initiatives such as Swachh Monitor, Mukhyamantri Majhi Shala, and Sundar Shala, had alleged that his firm had not received dues for work completed under these campaigns. He had also staged protests and a hunger strike in the past, said sources.

Kesarkar said Arya’s Swachhta Monitor scheme was also part of the state government’s ‘My school, beautiful school’ initiative.

Speaking to the

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