Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse: Panels set up to probe collapse of statue, build new one

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Maharashtra Government has set up a technical committee comprising engineers, IIT experts and Navy officials to probe reasons behind the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse at Malvan in coastal Konkan, an official said, reported news agency PTI.

A release issued by the Chief Minister's office after midnight said the government has also constituted a committee to build a 'grand statute befitting the stature" of the warrior king.

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The decision was taken by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who chaired a meeting with senior ministers, bureaucrats and Navy officials at his official residence Varsha in South Mumbai Wednesday night, the release said.

An FIR has been registered against the contractor of the 35-foot Shivaji Maharaj statue collapsed on Monday just eight months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4.

The FIR follows a complaint by the Public Works Department, which claims the statue's construction was of poor quality, and the nuts and bolts used in the structure were found to be rusted, reported PTI.

Engineer named in FIR says he worked on platform

A structural engineer named in the case registered in connection with the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse at Fort Rajkot on Wednesday claimed that he was not the structural consultant for the project.

Speaking to Marathi news channel, Chetan Patil, named in the FIR along with artist Jaydeep Apte, said he had submitted the design of the platform to the Indian Navy through the Public Works Department (PWD), but he had nothing to do with the statue itself, reported PTI.

"A Thane-based company did the statue-related work," he said, reported PTI.

"I was just asked to work on the platform on which the statue was being erected," Patil added, reported PTI.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder, installed at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg district's Malvan tehsil collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition MVA targeting the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government and seeking Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's resignation.

(With inputs from PTI)