Security tightened ahead of MVA protest over Shivaji statue collapse
What's the story
The Mumbai Police have heightened security measures in anticipation of a protest march organized by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The demonstration is in response to the recent collapse of a 35-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district.
The protest march will be held from Hutatma Chowk to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue near the Gateway of India in Mumbai from 11:00am on Sunday.
Political fallout
Statue collapse sparks political controversy
The statue, unveiled on December 4 last year as part of Navy Day celebrations, collapsed on August 26.
The public works body PWD had warned that rusting nuts and bolts posed a risk to the statue's stability. However, critics claim these warnings were ignored.
The incident has sparked a political controversy with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray criticizing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti government.
Legal developments
PM Modi apologizes, structural consultant arrested
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly apologized for the incident during his visit to Mumbai. He unveiled nine months ago.
"Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologize to them," he said.
"Those who consider...Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologize to them...For us, nothing is bigger than our deity," he added.
Reconstruction plans
State government forms committees for statue reconstruction
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde described the incident as "unfortunate" and pledged to reinstall the statue.
He clarified that strong winds of around 45km/h caused the statue, erected by the Navy, to fall and get damaged.
Meanwhile, the state government has set up a technical committee to investigate the reasons behind the collapse.
This panel will include engineers, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) experts, and Navy officials.
Corruption allegations
One arrested last week
Chetan Patil, the structural consultant for the collapsed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg's Malvan region, was arrested in Kolhapur last week.
While officials claim that winds gusting at 45 km per hour caused the collapse, wind speeds up to nearly three times these are considered when building a structure, according to the Bureau of Indian Standards.