Sculptor of Chhatrapati's statue that collapsed in Maharashtra arrested from Kalyan

Mumbai, Sep 5 (IANS) A day after a lookout notice issued by the Sindhudurg District Superintendent of Police, the Kalyan Police has arrested the sculptor Jaydeep Apte from his residence.

Apte was absconding following the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan, Sindhudurg district.

Apte took advantage of the darkness and came to his Kalyan residence to meet his wife and mother, avoiding the police. However, the police arrested him from his residence.

The police have already arrested structural engineer Chetan Patil under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita.

The police had registered a case against him after a public outrage over the fall of the statue.

The lookout notice was issued on Tuesday for Apte's arrest if he tries to leave India through any national airport.

After the incident, Apte's family went to Shahapur to stay with their relatives.

However, the police went there and questioned Apte's wife and mother.

The Kalyan Police had repeatedly visited Apte's family to arrest him but could not do so.

The Opposition has also slammed the MahaYuti government for allegedly shielding Apte and corruption involved in the completion of the statue.

The statue was unveiled in December 2023. However, after just eight months on August 26, 2024, the 35-feet statue collapsed.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other MahaYuti leaders said that the statue collapsed due to heavy wind speed. However, the Opposition rejected the Chief Minister's explanation, saying that it was due to corruption.

The Art Director of the statue had also clarified that the permission was granted for the erection of a six-feet statue but it was overruled and the 35-feet statue was erected.

Amid the raging controversy, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was the first leader who apologised and later Chief Minister Shinde said Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is their idol and he would not mind apologising 100 times to the people of the state and the country.

Thereafter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 30 apologised and sought forgiveness from the people of the country.

The state government has already promised to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Congress Spokesman Sachin Sawant in his post on X said, "Jaydeep Apte was arrested from his house. This means he came forward on his own, not found by the police. This conclusion can be drawn. Anyway! Did it take so long to find him because of blessings? This is the question."

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