Shivaji statue collapse: Sculptor wanted to surrender before he was arrested, says counsel

The sculptor of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue that collapsed, has been arrested. Sculptor Jaydeep Apte’s counsel claimed that he had gone to meet his family at Kalyan in Thane district as he wanted to surrender before the police. 

However, Apte was arrested near his home in Kalyan on Wednesday night by a team of police. The police were looking for the sculptor after the Shivaji statue he had made collapsed nine months after it was inaugurated. Police had formed seven teams to trace Apte. 

Apte’s counsel said that he had decided to surrender and face legal action instead of applying for a pre-arrest bail. He had come to Kalyan to surrender before the police, the counsel said. "We had held talks with his family members and decided that it would be proper for Apte to surrender and assist the probe agency," said the counsel. 

His counsel also dismissed the police’s claim that Apte was hiding. 

The police’s account however differs from the counsel’s. They said they laid a trap and nabbed Apte after receiving a tip-off that he would come to meet his family in Kalyan. The police said that Apte was wearing a mask to conceal his identity. 

The collapse of Shivaji’s statue has kickstarted a blame game. The Eknath Shinde-led government was left red faced as the Opposition hurled one attack after another. Soon after the collapse of the statue of the iconic founder of the Maratha empire, the police registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other offences. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week.