NEW DELHI: In the case of the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue, a Sindhudurg court on Thursday remanded sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte to police custody until September 10. Apte, an alumnus of the prestigious JJ School of Art, was arrested on Wednesday after family and friends attempted to persuade him to surrender.
Apte, 39, who lives in Kalyan and operates a workshop near his residence, had been tracked by teams from Sindhudurg and Thane police. He was last known to be heading to Malvan with a friend 10 days ago to inspect the site where the statue was erected. Apte was taken into custody while returning home to meet his family.
A rising sculptor, Apte first gained attention in 2019 when he was commissioned by the UK-based Sikh Soldier Organisation to create a bronze bust of a Sikh soldier, honoring those who fought in the British Army during the World Wars. The statue was unveiled in West Yorkshire. He also created a statuette of Mahatma Gandhi’s son, Manilal, for the Dandi Memorial in Gujarat.
