Satadru Dutta, the main organiser of Lionel Messi’s event in Kolkata, has indicated that the arrival of an influential individual disrupted the program.
Photo : AP
Satadru Dutta, the arrested main organsier of Lionel Messi’s event in Kolkata, has told investigators that the entrance of “one particular influential person” in the stadium derailed the entire program, which eventually resulted in chaos. During prolonged questioning by officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Dutta revealed that the football icon was “unhappy with being touched or hugged” during his appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium and left before staying there full-time as scheduled.
Messi “did not like being touched on the back or being hugged” and that concern had been conveyed in advance by the foreign security officials responsible for the footballer’s protection, he said, sources told PTI.
“Despite repeated public announcements to restrain the crowd, there was no impact. The manner in which Messi was surrounded and embraced was completely unacceptable to the World Cup-winning footballer,” Satadru Dutta told investigators during his grilling on Friday, the source said.
Aroop Biswas under scanner for chaos at Messi’s event
West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas was seen in close proximity to Messi throughout the programme, with visuals showing him holding the footballer around the waist while posing for photographs. Biswas has been accused of using his influence to allow relatives and personal acquaintances access to Messi. Amid mounting criticism, he resigned from his post as sports minister pending completion of the investigation.
Investigators are also probing how such a large number of people gained access to the ground area. According to Dutta, initially only 150 ground passes were issued, which was tripled when a “very influential person” reached the stadium and “overpowered him”. Police are examining whether the expanded access directly contributed to the breakdown of crowd control.
“The arrested accused also claimed that once that particular influential person reached the stadium, all the flow-chart for the Messi programme got disturbed and he could not control it,” the official told PTI.
