SHRC Maharashtra Takes Suo Moto Cognizance in Controversial Powai Police Encounter of Rohit Arya
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Mumbai, 6th November 2025: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) of Maharashtra has taken Suo moto cognizance following a complaint filed by Advocate Nitin Satpute concerning the police encounter of Rohit Arya at Powai Police Station. The complaint alleges serious irregularities that have shaken public confidence in the police force and demands a thorough investigation into the incident.
The complaint details that Rohit Arya, who reportedly suffered severe mental stress over unpaid dues of around Rs 2 crore from a government school project, had lured families from Kolhapur to Mumbai for a film audition involving children. After the situation escalated on the day of the incident at Arya’s studio, the Powai Police conducted a rescue operation freeing 17 children safely. Arya was shot in a police encounter and later declared dead.
The complainant raises concerns over the nature of the encounter, emphasizing that Arya was shot in the chest and questions the necessity of lethal force, suggesting that police could have aimed to incapacitate rather than kill. The complaint accuses police officers of acting under high pressure to appear as “encounter specialists” and calls for criminal proceedings against key officers including DCP Datta Nalavalde and others.
It further accuses the Powai Police of registering false complaints, coercing Arya’s former wife, and alleges that Arya was made a scapegoat to cover police failure in protecting the children.
The complainant demands that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) take over the probe and arrest those involved in planning and executing the encounter. The complaint also calls for registration of FIRs under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita 2023 and the Bombay Police Act, and removal of all officers linked to the incident from their posts.
The SHRC’s intervention signals a critical inquiry into the conduct of the Powai Police and the circumstances surrounding the encounter, reflecting growing public concern over police accountability and human rights.
