By PC Bureau
Parashurama, a figure immortalized in legend for his wrath and mighty sword, could never have imagined that one day a fake statue would bear his name. Yet, that is exactly what has led to a scandal involving the 33-foot bronze statue erected at the Karkala Parashurama theme park.
Krishna Nayak, the sculptor behind the statue, found himself amid a major embezzlement case after allegations surfaced that he had substituted the original bronze statue with a counterfeit version made of fiber. The controversy began in June when Krishna Shetty, a resident of Nallur, filed a complaint with the police. The allegations triggered a criminal case under Sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the IPC, with the Karkala police registering an FIR.
The Udupi Additional District and Sessions Court on November 7 rejected  Nail’s plea for anticipatory bail , setting in motion a manhunt. The 45-year-old sculptor, the owner of Krish Craftsmanship World, had been hiding in Mahe, Puducherry, until his arrest on Sunday.
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The scandal is linked to the Parashurama theme park on Ummikal Hill in Udupi, which was inaugurated with much fanfare in January 2023 by former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar, a former state culture minister. Though the park was launched with the grand installation of the statue, access for tourists was temporarily suspended due to unfinished work.
Nayak’s company had reportedly received ₹1.25 crore from Udupi Nirmithi Kendra for the creation of the statue, but the complaint from Shetty claims that the funds were misused to create a cheaper, fiber-based replica instead. Following his arrest, Nayak has been remanded to 14 days in judicial custody, leaving behind a trail of scandal that has tainted the once-illustrious theme park project.
