Mumbai, Aug 29 (IANS) Adding fire to the Opposition’s ire, the sculptor and a structural consultant of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue — which crashed in Malvan’s Rajkot Fort on August 26 — have gone ‘missing’, as the Shiv Sena (UBT) alleged their links with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an official said here on Thursday.
The sculptor, Jaydeep Apte, who designed and created the 28-feet tall hollow bronze statue, lives in Kalyan (Thane) and his consultant, Chetan Patil, is from Kolhapur, and their mobiles are switched off.
The duo’s whereabouts are not known ever since the Malvan Police lodged an FIR against them after the statue collapsed on Monday, igniting a nationwide furore and a massive political row in Maharashtra.
At least three police teams each of Thane and Kolhapur police are searching for them in various possible locations where they may be hiding, while security has been beefed up around Apte’s home in Kalyan.
As per certain reports, the police have reportedly managed to contact Apte’s wife and recorded her statement on the matter, while Patil’s home is locked.
SS-UBT Deputy Leader and spokesperson Sushma Andhare claimed that BJP MLA Nitesh (Narayan) Rane had connections with Apte, and displayed photos of the (Apte-Rane) duo, demanding their arrest.
On his part, an unfazed Nitesh Rane said that the police would definitely track Apte, and he would be dealt with as per the laws.
Apte, in an interaction with a Marathi publication last year, admitted that though a statue of such dimensions could take upto three years but he managed to do it in barely 3 months.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has accused the MahaYuti government of corruption in the matter of the statue construction and demanded the resignation of CM Eknath Shinde, the Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and others, while Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has tendered a public apology over the monumental tragedy.
As the MahaYuti went on the back-foot, the MVA has carried out a series of vociferous protests across the state, took out a procession that resulted in a scuffle between the SS-UBT and BJP activists near the Rajkot Fort, and will continue the agitations over the coming days.
The Indian Navy (IN) said that a joint technical committee headed by its officials along with Maharashtra officials and technical experts will be set up to probe the state incident, subsequent to the exceptional weather conditions in Sindhudurg that day.
The statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4, 2023, as part of the Navy Day celebrations, and the project was conceptualised and steered by the IN, in collaboration with the state government which financed it.
The IN said it “remains committed to assisting in all measures to repair, restore, and reinstate the statue at the earliest”, echoing the state government’s assurances.
–IANS
qn/pgh
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
