1 arrested in Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident

Chetan Patil, the structural consultant named in the FIR registered in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, has been arrested from Kolhapur, police said on Friday.

Patil was taken into custody late on Thursday night and was handed over to the Sindhudurg police for further investigation, said Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit.

According to the Sindhudurg police, Patil has been arrested in the case.

Patil, a resident of Kolhapur, had claimed on Wednesday that he was not the structural consultant for the project.

Speaking to the Marathi news channel ABP Majha, Patil, named in the FIR along with artist Jaydeep Apte, had said that he had submitted the design of the platform to the Indian Navy through the state's Public Works Department (PWD) but had nothing to do with the statue itself.

"A Thane-based company did the statue-related work. I was just asked to work on the platform on which the statue was being erected," Patil had said.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th-century Maratha warrior king, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg on Navy Day (December 4) last year, collapsed around 1 pm on Monday.

The incident caused embarrassment to the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led state government and invited criticism and protests from the opposition parties. Shinde said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.