The Bombay High Court has granted bail to the consultant who was arrested after the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue at the Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra Malvan. The structure broke almost nine months after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Navy Day on December 4, 2023.

Chetan Patil was arrested in August from Kolhapur after the 35-foot statue of the iconic Maratha warrior king collapsed in Sindhudurg district on August 26. 

A single bench of Justice A S Kilor today held that no case was made out to implicate him in the case as he had not been appointed as the structural designer of the statue. The bench said Mr Patil had only submitted a structural stability report of the pedestal of the statue and the pedestal was intact even after the collapse.

Jaydeep Apte, the sculptor and contractor of the collapsed statue, was also arrested in the case. The High Court said it will hear his bail request next week on Monday.

The collapse of the statue led to protest rallies across Mumbai. The city not only saw protests against the BJP over the statue collapse, but the BJP also held one against the Opposition, challenging their reverence for the 17th Century Maratha warrior king.

The Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi held a protest rally, where former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said Maharashtra’s soul has been insulted and the people will never forget those who insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji.

The BJP held a counter-protest in Mumbai’s Dadar area against the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavais said the MVA’s agitation is completely political.

PM Modi had said that he was bowing his head and apologising to the people of Maharashtra, who were hurt by the collapse of the Shivaji statue. At a rally Malvan in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, he also criticised the Opposition for not being apologetic.

– With inputs from PTI