Maharashtra Police arrested Chetan Patil, a structural consultant mentioned in the FIR regarding the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Fort Rajkot, in Kolhapur on Friday. The Kolhapur Police crime branch tracked him down and arrested him around 12:30 AM, after which he was handed over to Sindhudurg Police, according to a senior official.
According to a PTI report, Paltil claimed that he was not the structural consultant for the project on Wednesday. Speaking to Marathi news channel ABP Majha, Chetan Patil, named in the FIR along with artist Jaydeep Apte, said he had submitted the design of the platform to the Indian Navy through the Public Works Department (PWD), but he had nothing to do with the statue itself.
“A Thane-based company did the statue-related work,” he said. “I was just asked to work on the platform on which the statue was being erected,” Patil added.
The 35-foot statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder, installed at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg district’s Malvan tehsil collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy. Following the collapse of the statue, the Indian Navy ordered an investigation into the incident.
The Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) had flagged concerns over rust gathering on Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and suggested permanent measures in a letter sent to a Naval official just six days before the structure collapsed, reported PTI.
Comments
0 comment