Sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte arrested in Shivaji statue collapse case

Jaydeep Apte, a wanted sculptor-contractor in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue at Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra last month, was arrested from Kalyan in Thane district on Wednesday night. The statue created by Apte collapsed on August 26, less than 9 months after its inauguration, after which the Sindhudurg police were looking for him. The police had formed seven teams to search for him.

Malvan police had registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other crimes after the collapse of Shivaji's statue. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week.

Reacting to the arrest of the accused in the incident, BJP leader Praveen Darkar said, "Those who were criticizing our government should now shut their mouth. It is true that the police took some time to arrest Jaydeep Apte. We are not taking credit for the arrest but the police have done their job.''

The Sindhudurg police took Apte to Malvan, where he will be produced in court today for remand. However, Apte's lawyer Ganesh Sohni claimed that he surrendered before the police on his own.

The Malvan police had registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other offences after the Shivaji statue collapsed. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week.

The police have sent samples of the material used in the construction of the statue as well as the platform on which the statue stood to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.