Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday apologised to people of Maharashtra for the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Malvan fort in coastal Konkan region.

“Be it officials or contractors, action will be taken against those guilty,” Ajit Pawar said at a public meeting during his Jan Sanman Yatra in Latur district.

“Shivaji Maharaj is our deity. I apologise to the 13 crore people of Maharashtra for the collapse of his statue,” Pawar said. The collapse of the statue within a year (of installation) is shocking, he added.

An FIR has been registered against the contractor of the statue work after it collapsed on Monday just eight months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 4 last year.

The FIR follows a complaint by the Public Works Department, which claims the statue's construction was of poor quality, and the nuts and bolts used in the structure were found to be rusted.

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