Sena-UBT, Rane supporters clash as Aaditya visits Shivaji statue collapse site

Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray workers and supporters of Bharatiya Janata Party MP Narayan Rane clashed on Wednesday at a fort in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra where the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had collapsed.

A police constable was injured as stones were hurled by some persons, an official said.

The clash was triggered by the near-simultaneous arrival of Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray and the Thackeray family's arch-rival and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP Narayan Rane at the Rajkot fort.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4 last year, collapsed on August 26 afternoon.

The statue collapse incident snowballed into a political controversy with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) targeting the Mahayuti government and seeking Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's resignation.
Aaditya Thackeray reached the fort to take stock of the situation, two days after the statue collapsed.

Separately, former Union minister Narayan Rane also reached the site with his elder son and former MP Nilesh Rane and their supporters.

The Ranes were seen arguing with the police as Thackeray was inside the fort.

Soon, a clash broke out between the supporters of both sides who jostled each other.

The police and security personnel struggled to bring the situation under control amid heightened tension.

A police constable, identified as Sambhaji Patil, was injured when some persons hurled stones. He was rushed to the primary health centre in Malvan, a police official said.

Police officials managed to pacify the tempers after some time and brought the situation under control.

Police reinforcements were sent for deployment at the site to prevent any untoward incident.

Aaditya Thackeray termed the ruckus "unfortunate" which displays immaturity.

"I have told my party workers not to indulge in politics at the fort of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," he said.

Following outrage over the collapse of the statue, the Sindhudurg Police registered a case against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil, both involved in the project.

Navy and Public Works Department (PWD) personnel visited the site of the collapsed statue on Tuesday, an official had said.