Mumbai, 4 Sept

Sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte, wanted in connection with the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot fort last month, was arrested from Kalyan in Thane district on Wednesday night, a senior police official said.

Sindhudurg police in Maharashtra were searching for Apte (24) since the statue made by him collapsed on 26 August, less than nine months after it was inaugurated. Police had formed seven teams to look for him.

After the statue collapsed, Malvan police registered a case against Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil for negligence and other offences. Patil was arrested from Kolhapur last week.

The collapse of the statue of the iconic founder of the Maratha state has triggered a huge political row ahead of assembly elections in Maharashtra with the Opposition targeting the Eknath Shinde-led government.

Reacting to the development, BJP leader Pravin Darekar said, "Those who were critical of our government must shut their mouths now. It is true that police took a little long to arrest Jaydeep Apte. We are not taking any credit for arresting, but the police did their job."

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushama Andhare, on the other hand, said, "The state government should not try to take any credit for arresting Apte because it is the government's duty. He was not some underworld don....He should have been arrested sooner."

Meanwhile, a joint technical committee of five members visited the fort at Malvan during the day and examined the site, said an official.

Police has also sent samples of the materials used for the statue as well as the platform on which it stood to a forensic science laboratory for chemical analysis.

State Congress chief Nana Patole alleged in Pune that only Rs 1.5 crore were spent on the construction of the statue even though Rs 236 crore were taken for the work from the state coffers.

To chief minister Shinde's allegation that the opposition was politicising the statue collapse incident, Patole said venting anger against an insult to Shivaji Maharaj cannot be described as politicising the matter.