Sculptor and Consultant Remanded in Custody Over Shivaji Maharaj Statue Collapse

A local court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district has remanded sculptor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil in police custody until September 10 over the collapse of a 35-foot Shivaji Maharaj statue. The statue, unveiled by Prime Minister Modi nine months ago, collapsed on August 26. An FIR had been lodged against them for negligence.

A local court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district on Thursday remanded sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil, held over the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue, in police custody till September 10.

While Patil was arrested on August 30 from Kolhapur, Apte was taken into custody on Wednesday night from Kalyan in Thane district, nearly 10 days after an FIR was registered in connection with the incident. A 35-foot statue of the iconic Maratha warrior king collapsed at the Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of the district on August 26, nearly nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it.

Patil and Apte were produced before a court in Malvan where the police sought their custody for interrogation. The court remanded them in police custody till September 10.

Apte's advocate Ganesh Sovani said the sculptor had intended to surrender on Wednesday night and that he was willing to cooperate with the probe. "He is willing to submit to the police all details regarding the design of the statue and other documents," Sovani told the court.

Apte, a Thane-based sculptor, was responsible for creating the 35-foot statue of Shivaji Maharaj. The Sindhudurg police had registered an FIR against Apte and Patil for the collapse of the statue last month, under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections for negligence and other offences.

(With inputs from agencies.)