Shivaji Statue Collapse Row: Sculptor-Contractor Arrested from Thane District

New Delhi: Sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte, who was wanted in connection with the recent collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district last month, was arrested from Kalyan, Thane district, on Wednesday (September 4, 2024) night.

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Thane SP Saurav Agarwal said that Apte has been arrested, reported The Hindu.

The Shivaji statue that was crafted by Apte had collapsed on August 26, resulting in a political storm in Maharashtra, with opposition parties slamming the Mahayuti government in the state, pushing the BJP and Shiv Sena on the backfoot.

After the statue’s collapse, the Malvan Police had lodged a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil, booking them for charges including negligence and attempt to murder. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week.

Earlier, the Indian Navy had said that a joint technical committee headed by the Navy nad including representatives from the state government along with technical experts will conduct a probe about the reasons for the collapse.

A five-member technical committee has also visited the fort to inspect the site, said an official. The police have also sent samples of the statue’s materials and its platform for laboratory analysis, reported The Hindu.

On August 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had apologised for the collapse of the statue at the Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg.

In December last year, Modi had inaugurated the 35-foot statue of Shivaji in coastal Maharashtra. Less than nine months later, the statue collapsed.