Jaydeep Apte, the sculptor of the Shivaji statue that collapsed in Maharashtra, has been arrested.
24-year-old Jaydeep Apte, who sculpted the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue that collapsed in Maharashtra last month, was arrested in Thane district after being untraceable for nearly 10 days.
Arpit Pattnaik
Sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte, responsible for creating the 35-feet-tall Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg's Malvan, was arrested by the Maharashtra Police. The statue, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year, collapsed on August 26. Apte, who owns an art company in Kalyan and had no prior experience in constructing large statues, had been missing for around 10 days before his arrest.
His arrest sparked political controversy ahead of Maharashtra's Assembly elections, with the Opposition criticizing the Eknath Shinde-led government. BJP leader Pravin Darekar, in reaction to Apte's arrest, stated that those critical of their government should now be quiet. Apte was charged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and a structural consultant, Chetan Patil, was also arrested.
The opposition raised objections about how Apte was awarded such a significant contract despite his lack of experience in crafting such a massive structure. Sindhudurg Police teams actively searched for Apta in various locations, including Mumbai, Thane, and Kolhapur. The collapse of the statue resulted in allegations from the Maharashtra Congress that only Rs 1.5 crore was spent on the construction, despite Rs 236 crore being allocated for the project from the state treasury.
