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Jaydeep Apte, the sculptor and contractor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot Fort, had been missing and untraceable for about 10 days since the 35-foot-tall statue collapsed.
Following the collapse, the Malvan police registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other offences. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week
Jaydeep Apte, the sculptor and contractor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot Fort that collapsed last month, was arrested from Kalyan in Thane district on Wednesday night.
Apte had been missing and untraceable for about 10 days since the 35-foot-tall statue collapsed.
Sindhudurg police in Maharashtra had been searching for Apte, 24, since the statue he made fell on August 26, less than nine months after its inauguration. Police had formed seven teams to locate him.
Following the collapse, the Malvan police registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other offences. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week.
The police have also sent samples of the materials used for the statue and the platform on which it stood to a forensic science laboratory for chemical analysis.
The collapse of the statue of the iconic founder of the Maratha state has sparked a huge political controversy ahead of Maharashtra’s assembly elections, with the Opposition criticising the Eknath Shinde-led government.
Reacting to the sculptor’s arrest, BJP leader Pravin Darekar said, “Those who were critical of our government must shut their mouths now. It is true that police took a little long to arrest Jaydeep Apte. We are not taking any credit for arresting, but the police did their job.”
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushama Andhare stated that the state government should not claim credit for Apte’s arrest, emphasising that it is the government’s duty. “He was not some underworld don….He should have been arrested sooner,” Andhare added.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, speaking in Pune, alleged that only Rs 1.5 crore was spent on the statue’s construction, despite Rs 236 crore being allocated from state funds.
In response to state Chief Minister Shinde’s claim that the opposition was politicising the statue collapse, Patole argued that expressing outrage over an insult to Shivaji Maharaj cannot be described as politicising the matter.
(With inputs from PTI)