FIR filed against contractor and structural consultant over collapse of Shivaji Maharaj's statue

Mumbai: Police in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district have registered a case against the contractor and the structural consultant in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue, officials said on Tuesday.

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 Eknath Shinde-led state government and invited criticism from the opposition parties. CM Shinde said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.

A complaint was lodged by an assistant engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) at Malvan police station on Monday evening. As per the complainant, the artist and the consultant were responsible for the collapse of the statue, an official said.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil over the statue collapse incident, he said.

They were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections of attempt to commit culpable homicide, act endangering life or personal safety of others, attempt to murder and cheating was registered along with section 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (mischief causing damage to public property), he said.