A complaint was registered against the Sindhudurg-based contractor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra, which collapsed on Monday, just eight months after its inauguration. Locals and tourists severely criticised the visibly deteriorating condition of the statue that was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4, 2023.
The FIR has named contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil and booked them under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 407 (criminal breach of trust by a carrier, etc.), 420 (fraud), and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for conniving, fraud, and endangering the safety of the public. In its complaint, the Public Works Department said that the construction was inferior in quality as the nuts and bolts had rusted, posing instability to the statue.
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There were even complaints about the statue before it collapsed. On August 20, the assistant engineer of the Malvan division of the PWD had informed the authorities about the rusting nuts and bolts. No preventive measure was taken. Sindhudurg guardian minister Ravindra Chavan said the steel used in the statue started rusting early. The PWD even informed Navy officials about the issue, requesting action at the earliest to prevent further deterioration.
Work on the statue started on September 8, and the Indian Navy that has no experience in the erection of statues did the erection of the statue and its pedestal. Opposition has accused the government of negligence and said it had failed to take note of warnings about the statue’s condition given much earlier, though Chief Minister Eknath Shinde blamed strong winds of 45 km per hour for the collapse of the statue.
