Mumbai:

Sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte, wanted in connection with the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot fort last month, was arrested from Kalyan in Thane district on Wednesday night, a senior police official said.

Sindhudurg police in Maharashtra were searching for Apte (24) since the statue made by him collapsed on August 26, less than nine months after it was inaugurated. Police had formed seven teams to look for him.

After the statue collapsed, 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 collapse of the statue of the iconic founder of the Maratha state has triggered a huge political row ahead of assembly elections in Maharashtra with the Opposition targeting the Eknath Shinde-led government.

Reacting to the development, 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.” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushama Andhare, on the other hand, said, “The state government should not try to take any credit for arresting Apte because it is the government’s duty. He was not some underworld don….He should have been arrested sooner.” Meanwhile, a joint technical committee of five members visited the fort at Malvan during the day and examined the site, said an official.

Police has also sent samples of the materials used for the statue as well as the platform on which it stood to a forensic science laboratory for chemical analysis.

State Congress chief Nana Patole alleged in Pune that only Rs 1.5 crore were spent on the construction of the statue even though Rs 236 crore were taken for the work from the state coffers.

To chief minister Shinde’s allegation that the opposition was politicising the statue collapse incident, Patole said venting anger against an insult to Shivaji Maharaj cannot be described as politicising the matter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pune:

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday alleged that “corruption” was the cause of the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district’s Rajkot Fort last month.

Mr Pawar was speaking at an event in Kagal in Kolhapur district where BJP leader Raje Samarjeet Ghatge joined NCP (SP).

“It was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who underlined the strategic importance of the sea, and built Sindhudurg and other sea forts. It was shocking to see that a statue, built only a few months ago and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, collapsed,” the senior leader said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde attributed the incident to strong winds, Mr Pawar noted.

“In Mumbai, at the Gateway of India, there is a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, installed by the state’s first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan sixty years ago, and that statue is still standing strong,” he said.

The reason for the collapse was clearly corruption, the NCP(SP) chief claimed.

“Those in power today shamelessly engage in corruption, even in the construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue, and it is up to us to ensure they do not hold the reins of the state (again). We have decided to create leadership that is clean, virtuous and capable of safeguarding the interests of common people,” he said.

Mr Pawar welcomed Mr Ghatge and his colleagues into the NCP (SP) fold, expressing confidence that the people of Kagal will elect Mr Ghatge to the legislative assembly. He indicated that Mr Ghatge would be taking on local MLA and minister Hasan Mushrif, a leader of the Ajit Pawar-led rival NCP.

Without naming Mr Mushrif, Mr Pawar said people voted for him last time but he switched sides afterwards. Voters will teach him a lesson, the NCP(SP) chief added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra has deployed heavy security ahead of the mega Mumbai protest announced by the Maha Vikas Aghadi over the collapse of Chhattrapati Shivaji’s 35-foot statue at Malvan in Sindhudurg.

The ruling BJP has questioned the relevance of the protest and has planned a march of its own to counter the Opposition’s agitation.

A huge posse of police personnel of security forces has gathered at the Gateway of India. The monument has also been shut for tourists, citing law and order. 

Top leader of the INDIA bloc in Maharashtra — Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar and state Congress president Nana Patole will be participating in the Opposition rally from Hutatma Chowk in the Fort area to Gateway of India.

The Opposition bloc has called its agitation “jode maro” protest, which means “hit with footwear”. Calling upon people to join the march, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has tweeted that it is coming to bow at Shivaji’s feet to “awaken the pride of Maharashtra”. The Sharad Pawar faction of NCP has said there is no forgiveness for “corrupt Shivdrohis”. The state unit of the Congress has said the march is aimed at teaching a lesson to “Shivdrohis” who did shoddy work, committed corruption and insulted Shivaji.

The collapse of the Shivaji statue, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just 8 months back, has sparked a massive political row in Maharashtra. The project was handled by the Navy in coordination with the state government. Police have arrested the structural consultant for the project and its contractor. They have been charged under sections relating to attempt to murder, culpable homicide and act endangering life and safety of others.

Amid the political backlash, Prime Minister Modi has apologised to the people for the statue’s collapse. “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us, he is our deity. Today, I bow my head at his feet and apologise to my deity. I also apologise to the people hurt by the collapse,” he has said.

BJP Questions INDIA Protest

The ruling party has alleged that the Opposition’s protest is politically motivated and has been organised with an eye on the upcoming sate polls. State BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said the

Opposition’s love for Shivaji is superficial.

“Is the PM’s apology not enough? Rahul Gandhi had also apologised for his comments on the Rafale episode. Will they (MVA) stage a similar protest for these apologies?” Mr Upadhye questioned.

The BJP spokesperson said the party’s youth wing would stage agitations near statues of Shivaji Maharaj across Maharashtra to “expose” the Opposition. He alleged that previous Congress-led governments in the state did nothing to preserve the forts of Shivaji.

At Mumbai, the BJP will be holding an agitation in Dadar under the leadership of city party chief Ashish Shelar to counter the INDIA bloc agitation.

Mumbai:

In signs of rumblings within the ruling coalition in Maharashtra months before state polls, the NCP faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has condemned the collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji and given the call for a silent protest to demand action against those responsible.

“It is very painful and heart-wrenching that the statue of the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj erected at the Rajkot fort in Malvan has crashed. It is shocking that this statue fell in just eight months (after it was inaugurated),” state NCP president Sunil Tatkare has said in a statement.

“It cannot be denied that an unforgivable mistake was made. In order to protest this tragedy and to take precautions to prevent such accidents from happening in the future, the Nationalist Congress Party has organized a rally across the state on Thursday, dt. On 29 August 2024 from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, we will hold a silent protest in front of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue. We will demand that strict action be taken against whoever is guilty in this case,” the statement added.

The NCP demanded that the government work round the clock and build a new statue at Rajkot Fort to honour Shivaji Maharaj.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th century ruler was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4.

The statue’s collapse on Monday sparked a massive political row, with the Opposition alliance of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) demanding Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s resignation. A complaint by the Public Works Department alleged that construction of the statue was not up to the mark and nuts and bolts used in the structure were rusted. A case has been registered against two people involved in the project — contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil.

The decision of Ajit Pawar’s NCP to hold a silent protest against the government he is part of needs to seen against the backdrop of the current political landscape in Maharashtra. There has been a sea of change in the state’s political equations between last election and this one. The Shiv Sena has split into the factions led by Chief Minister Eknath and Uddhav Thackeray, and the NCP into factions led by Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar.

In the recently held Lok Sabha election, the Opposition alliance put up a stellar show, winning 30 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It will now be looking to repeat the strong performance in the state polls. The BJP-led ruling alliance, on the other hand, will go all out to make a comeback.

Against the backdrop, Ajit Pawar’s decision to call a protest is politically significant. His faction of the NCP won just one seat in the Lok Sabha election and lost several leaders to the Sharad Pawar faction after the poll results. He also admitted that fielding his wife Sunetra against his cousin and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule was a “mistake”. The developments have sparked buzz on whether the junior Pawar is considering returning to uncle Sharad Pawar’s camp after a string of setbacks. Ajit Pawar has, however, said he is firmly with the NDA and has expressed confidence that the bloc will form the government in Maharashtra again.

Mumbai:

An FIR has been registered against the contractor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg which collapsed on Monday just eight months since it was inaugurated. The statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4 in 2023. 

The FIR was filed against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The charges include collusion, fraud, and endangering public safety. The FIR follows a complaint by the Public Works Department (PWD), which claims the statue’s construction was of poor quality, and the nuts and bolts used in the structure were found to be rusted.

Local citizens and tourists had previously expressed their concerns about the statue’s deteriorating condition. Despite these warnings, including an alert from the assistant engineer of the Malvan division of the PWD on August 20, no preventive action was taken. The PWD stated that the rusting nuts and bolts posed a risk to the statue’s stability, yet the warnings were ignored.

“The steel used in making of the statue had started rusting. The PWD had already written to Navy officials informing them about the statue catching rust and requested them to take appropriate steps,” said Sindhudurg guardian minister Ravindra Chavan said. 

The work on the statue began on September 8, with the Indian Navy, which has no expertise in statue construction, being tasked with erecting the statue and its pedestal. The statue was unveiled on Navy Day on December 4, at Rajkot Fort, with Prime Minister Modi presiding over the event.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde acknowledged the incident and attributed the collapse to strong winds, claiming they were blowing at a speed of 45 km per hour at the time. However, the Opposition has criticised the government, accusing it of negligence.