Kolhapur: The Kolhapur police have arrested Chetan Patil, the structural consultant behind the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj bronze statue that collapsed at Rajkot Fort in Maharahstra’s Malvan, Sindhudurg, officials said on Friday.
Patil had been evading authorities since the incident on August 26 (Monday), which sparked public anger and political controversy in Maharahstra. Meanwhile, sculptor Jaydeep Apte is still at large.
Multiple police teams from Kolhapur, Sindhudurg, and Thane were involved in the search, with both suspects having their phones switched off. Patil was finally apprehended late last night.
Following his arrest, the Kolhapur police handed Patil over to Sindhudurg Police, who will transport him to Malvan, where the case has been filed and the incident took place.
Apte, who resides in Thane district, built the 28-foot statue on a 10-foot pedestal at Rajkot Fort. He has been missing since Malvan Police filed the case. In a prior interview with a Marathi publication, Apte revealed that although constructing such a statue typically takes up to three years, he completed it in just three months.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has accused the MahaYuti government of corruption in relation to the statue’s construction, demanding the resignation of CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and others. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has publicly apologized for the incident.
In response to mounting political pressure, the MVA has organized protests across the state, which led to a clash between SS (UBT) and BJP activists near Rajkot Fort. Further demonstrations are planned in the coming days.
The Indian Navy (IN) announced the creation of a joint technical committee, including IN officials, Maharashtra government representatives, and technical experts, to investigate the incident, which occurred amid unusual weather conditions in Sindhudurg.
The statue, unveiled by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on December 4, 2023, as part of Navy Day celebrations, was a project led by the IN in collaboration with the state government, which funded it. The IN has pledged to support efforts to repair, restore, and reinstall the statue as soon as possible, aligning with state government commitments.
