Regarding the fall of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg, the court has said that iron rod was used in the statue instead of stainless steel. The court rejected the bail plea of the structural consultant arrested in this case. Chetan Patil was arrested after the statue of Shivaji Maharaj installed in Raigad Fort fell.
The court said that when iron rods were used in the statue instead of stainless steel, the chances of it getting damaged had increased. There are more chances of iron getting rusted on the sea shore. In such a situation, it cannot be denied that this incident happened due to the mistake of the accused. Making this comment, on September 19, Sindhudurg Sessions Court had refused to grant bail to Chetan Patil.
This statue of Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled by Prime Minister Modi on 4 December 2023. The statue collapsed on August 26. Along with Patil, sculptor Jaideep Apte was also arrested in this case. Patil says that he works as an assistant professor and has nothing to do with this crime. He said that he had only given the stability report on WhatsApp on the request of a friend. This report was also about the platform of the statue and not about the statue.
Patil said that there is no record to show that he was given any work or any payment was made. Apart from this, there is no evidence that the platform of the statue was wrongly made or it was made weak.
Opposing the bail plea, the police told the court that the construction was of very poor quality and that is why the statue fell. Police said that the accused ignored the fact that the statue is in a place where there is a high risk of rusting. Police say that the statue became weak due to rusting of iron and investigation into the matter is still going on.
The court said that the statement of the accused that he was not appointed as a consultant cannot be accepted in this situation. If he had not been appointed then there was no need for him to prepare the report. No structural consultant prepares a report without the consent of the contractor.
