In the case of the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in Maharashtra, the police have arrested the sculptor. Earlier also the police have registered cases against many people regarding this incident. The special thing is that the police have arrested the sculptor Jaideep Apte with the help of his wife. The statue collapsed just a few months after its inauguration on 26 August. The police had formed 7 teams to search for Apte.
Apte was arrested outside his house on Wednesday. He had gone to meet his family. According to the Times of India report, the police say that Apte had contacted his wife and told her that he was returning home. After this, his wife shared this information with the police. The report quoted police sources as saying that Apte’s family was worried and wanted him to return and cooperate in the investigation.
Politics intensifies
The Malvan police had registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other offences after the Shivaji statue collapsed. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week.
Reacting to the arrest of the accused in this incident, BJP leader Praveen Darkar said, ‘Those who were criticizing our government should now shut their mouth. It is true that the police took some time to arrest Jaideep Apte. We are not taking credit for the arrest but the police have done their job.’
Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare said, “The state government should not try to take credit for Apte’s arrest as it is the government’s duty. He was not an ‘underworld don’…he should have been arrested earlier.”
(With agency input)