Jaydeep Apte, sculptor of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot fort, being arrested from Kalyan in Thane district, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: The investigations into the unfortunate crashing down of statue of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gathered momentum after the two accused - Jaydeep Apte and Chetan Patil - were remanded to police custody till September 10 by a court in Sindhudurg.
The collapse of the statue on 26 August has snowballed into a major political issue in the run up to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly polls.
While Thane-based Apte is the sculptor-contractor, Patil, who hails from Kolhapur is the structural consultant.
Patil was arrested on 30 August and his remanded ended on Thursday,
Apte was arrested on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
The statue of Shivaji Maharaj had collapsed in the Rajkot Fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg on 26 August - leading to a big political issue in Maharashtra.
Following the incident, an FIR was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 109, 110, 125, 318, and 3(5).
The statue, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg on December 4, 2023 coinciding with Navy Day, sustained considerable damage due to strong winds, according to initial assessment of the Indian Navy, Maharashtra Police and Public Works Department.