Fabricator arrested in UP for using substandard materials, say police

Police have arrested a fabricator of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that recently collapsed at a fort in Maharashtras Sindhudurg district triggering a huge political row an official said on Friday reported news agency PTIFabricator Parmeshwar Ramnaresh Yadav arrested from Uttar Pradesh had used substandard material while shaping the 35foottall statue of the Maratha warrior king he said reported PTIA resident of Mirzapur in UP Yadav was taken into custody on Thursday after his role in the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse came to light the official said reported PTIYadav had been tasked with creating the Shivaji statue by welding separate parts he saidPolice said the fabricator used inferior material to form the structure and did not join the parts properly through weldingHe said that during a technical analysis it was found that the collapsed steel statue had rusted in some places indicating the use of lowquality materialAfter his role in the case was established Yadav was also made an accused and subsequently placed under arrest on Thursday He was produced in court which remanded him in police custody for three days the official said reported PTIThe statue of the 17thcentury Maratha empire founder unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district on December 4 Navy Day last year collapsed on August 26 amid strong winds reported PTIThe statues sculptorcontractor Jaydeep Apte and consultant Chetan Patil were later arrested reported PTIThe Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi MVA targeting the Shiv SenaBharatiya Janata PartyNationalist Congress Party NCP government and seeking Chief Minister CM Eknath Shindes resignation over the issueThe Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident caused embarrassment to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shindeled state government and invited criticism from the opposition partiesCM Shinde said that the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy as per the PTIA complaint was lodged by an assistant engineer of the Public Works Department PWD at Malvan police station on Monday evening As per the complainant the artist and the consultant were responsible for the collapse of the statue an official said the news agency reportedBased on the complaint an FIR was registered against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil over the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident he said as per the PTIThey were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita BNS sections of attempt to commit culpable homicide act endangering life or personal safety of others attempt to murder and cheating was registered along with section 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act mischief causing damage to public property he saidWith inputs from PTI