Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse: Fabricator arrested in UP for using substandard materials, say police

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Police have arrested a fabricator of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that recently collapsed at a fort in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, triggering a huge political row, an official said on Friday, reported news agency PTI.

Fabricator Parmeshwar Ramnaresh Yadav, arrested from Uttar Pradesh, had used substandard material while shaping the 35-foot-tall statue of the Maratha warrior king, he said, reported PTI.

A resident of Mirzapur in UP, Yadav was taken into custody on Thursday after his role in the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse came to light, the official said, reported PTI.

Yadav had been tasked with creating the Shivaji statue by welding separate parts, he said.

Police said the fabricator used inferior material to form the structure and did not join the parts properly through welding.

He said that during a technical analysis, it was found that the collapsed steel statue had rusted in some places, indicating the use of low-quality material.

After his role in the case was established, Yadav was also made an accused and subsequently placed under arrest on Thursday. He was produced in court, which remanded him in police custody for three days, the official said, reported PTI.

The statue of the 17th-century Maratha empire founder, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district on December 4 (Navy Day) last year, collapsed on August 26 amid strong winds, reported PTI.

The statue's sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte and consultant Chetan Patil were later arrested, reported PTI.

The Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) targeting the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government and seeking Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde's resignation over the issue.

The Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident caused embarrassment to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led state government and invited criticism from the opposition parties.

CM Shinde said that the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy, as per the PTI.

A complaint was lodged by an assistant engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) at Malvan police station on Monday evening. As per the complainant, the artist and the consultant were responsible for the collapse of the statue, an official said, the news agency reported.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil over the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident, he said, as per the PTI.

They were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections of attempt to commit culpable homicide, act endangering life or personal safety of others, attempt to murder and cheating was registered along with section 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (mischief causing damage to public property), he said.

(With inputs from PTI)