Bollywood filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri has criticised local artists from Kalyan and Kolhapur being charged with attempt to murder and culpable homicide in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg fort. For those unversed, the Sindhudurg police filed an FIR against sculptor Jaideep Apte and structural consultant Chetan S Patil. They were booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to attempt to commit culpable homicide, act endangering the life or personal safety of others, attempt to murder, and cheating.
On Wednesday (August 28), the filmmaker shared newspaper clippings on his official X account and wrote, "What a joke it is. What about all the politicians, babus and contractors who made such ‘poor construction’ statue and gulped most of the money?"
He also asked, "Do you think the real culprits will ever be punished?"
Soon after Vivek shared the post, several X users felt that those who are in higher authority should be held accountable.
"Statue was created very badly but 'attempt to murder' charge is too much, moreover corrupt people higher up in the chain should also be held accountable," a comment under his post read.
Another user wrote, "Govt Sarkari Babu work 'very hard', they should not be blamed for this."
"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj falls to 21st-century corruption! I bet he is not happy about it! Even his enemies didn't insult him like this," read another comment.
Shivaji Maharaj's statue collapse
An assistant engineer of PWD had filed a complaint alleging poor construction quality of the statue. The PWD had also warned the authorities about the statue's rusted nuts and bolts, and local residents and tourists had also highlighted the statue's poor condition.
The FIR reportedly stated that Jaideep and Chetan colluded with each other and constructed the statue without conducting a study and as a result, the statue collapsed on August 26.
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Meanwhile, Vivek is quite vocal about various social and political issues in the country. On the work front, Vivek is all set to return with Parva - An Epic Tale Of Dharma, which is said to be based on the Hindu epic Mahabharata. In October 2023, the filmmaker had share the first look of the film.
