Thane: Jaydeep Apte, Linked to Rajkot Fort Statue Collapse, Apprehended in Kalyan
Thane, 5th September 2024: Jaydeep Apte, the sculptor-contractor linked to the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot Fort last month, was apprehended in Kalyan, Thane district, on Wednesday night, according to PTI, citing a senior police official. Apte had been under investigation by the Sindhudurg police in Maharashtra after the statue, which he created, collapsed on August 26—less than nine months after its inauguration. Multiple police teams were formed to track him down.
Following the statue’s collapse, Malvan police filed a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil, accusing them of negligence and other charges. Patil was arrested in Kolhapur last week. The incident, involving the statue of the Maratha state’s founder, sparked a major political controversy just ahead of Maharashtra’s assembly elections, with opposition parties criticizing the Eknath Shinde-led administration.
BJP leader Pravin Darekar responded to the arrest, stating, “Critics of our government should now stay silent. While it is true the police took some time to apprehend Jaydeep Apte, we do not seek credit for the arrest; the police simply did their job.”
Conversely, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushama Andhare commented, “The state government should not attempt to claim credit for Apte’s arrest, as it was their responsibility. He was not a notorious criminal and should have been arrested much earlier.”
A joint technical committee of five members inspected the Malvan fort site on the same day, quoting an official. Additionally, the police have sent samples of the statue’s materials and its platform to a forensic science laboratory for analysis.
State Congress chief Nana Patole criticized the situation, stating that while only Rs 1.5 crore was spent on the statue’s construction, Rs 236 crore had been withdrawn from the state treasury for the project.
In response to Chief Minister Shinde’s accusation that the opposition was politicizing the incident, Patole argued that expressing outrage over an affront to Shivaji Maharaj should not be considered political exploitation.
