A 45-foot statue of Argentine football icon Lionel Messi was dismantled by the state government in Kolkata over safety concerns.
The fibre-glass statue, installed at Lake Town near the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport, was deemed structurally unsafe by officials.
The entire structure, including the plinth, stood at 70 feet and depicted Messi holding the FIFA World Cup trophy.
The statue was installed by the Sree Bhumi Sporting Club, whose president Sujit Bose was recently arrested in connection with money laundering charges.
The statue was secured with ropes during a recent storm, but local residents had complained about its swaying during gusty winds.
Engineers from the state public works department had inspected the statue, which had become structurally unsafe.
The statue has been moved to the PWD office in Bidhannagar, and a decision on its relocation is yet to be taken.
