Shivaji statue collapse: Project’s structural consultant arrested

Even as the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Sindhudurg district turns into a major political issue in Maharashtra, police have arrested the structural consultant of the project who was named in the FIR filed on the issue.

Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit on Friday (August 30) said, Chetan Patil, the structural consultant was arrested from Kolhapur late on Thursday (August 29) night and was handed over to the Sindhudurg police for further investigation.

Sindhudurg police confirmed the arrest.

Didn’t work as structural consultant, says Patil

Patil, a resident of Kolhapur, had claimed on Wednesday that he was not the structural consultant for the project.

Speaking to the Marathi news channel ABP Majha, Patil, named in the FIR along with artist Jaydeep Apte, had said that he had submitted the design of the platform to the Indian Navy through the state's Public Works Department (PWD) but had nothing to do with the statue itself.

“A Thane-based company did the statue-related work. I was just asked to work on the platform on which the statue was being erected,” Patil had said.

Collapse of 35-foot statue

The 35-foot statue of the 17th-century Maratha warrior king, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg on Navy Day (December 4) last year, collapsed around 1 pm on Monday.

The incident caused embarrassment to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led state government and invited criticism and protests from the opposition parties. Shinde said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.