Eight months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a 28-foot statue of Maratha ruler Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg on Navy Day on December 4 last year, the statue collapsed on August 26, sparking a political storm amid questions over the quality of construction.
An FIR has been lodged against the 24-year-old Kalyan-based contractor and sculptor Jaideep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil at the Malvan police station. But Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has come to their defense, claiming it was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy has deployed its own team to investigate the cause of the collapse and begin restoration.
