Shivaji statue collapse: Fabricator arrested in UP; used substandard material, say police
A resident of Mirzapur in UP, Yadav was taken into custody on Thursday after his role in the statue collapse came to light, the official said.
A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, erected by the Navy and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, collapses at Rajkot Fort (PTI Photo)
MUMBAI: Police have arrested a fabricator of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that recently collapsed at a fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, triggering a huge political row, an official said on Friday.
Fabricator Parmeshwar Ramnaresh Yadav, who was arrested from Uttar Pradesh, had used substandard material while shaping the 35-foot-tall statue of the Maratha warrior king, he said.
A resident of Mirzapur in UP, Yadav was taken into custody on Thursday after his role in the statue collapse came to light, the official said.
Yadav had been tasked with creating the Shivaji statue by welding separate parts, he said.
Police said the fabricator used inferior material to form the structure and did not join the parts properly through welding.
During a technical analysis, it was found that the collapsed steel statue had rusted in some places, indicating the use of low-quality material, he said.
After his role in the case was established, Yadav was also made an accused and was subsequently placed under arrest on Thursday. He was produced in a court which remanded him in police custody for three days, the official said.