Police expose lapses in Kolkata event after Lionel Messi tour organiser's arrest: 'It was cut from 1h 40m to 20 minutes'

Bidhannagar law Commissioner Mukesh Kumar, who attended the regulator and the members of the research citizens committee set up by the state government to investigate the fiasco surrounding the Kolkata leg of Lionel Messi's GOAT India tour, revealed details of all the lapses in management during the event on December 13. The event, which was supposed to mark the grand opening of Messi's four-city tour and a return to Kolkata after 14 years, descended into chaos, and the Police chief blamed it on "clear mismanagement."

The police commissioner, as quoted by The Indian Express, said the event at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday was scheduled to last nearly two hours but was cut short to just 20 minutes after chaos erupted.

“When you cut a 1 hour 40-minute event to 20 minutes, this is bound to happen. It is a fallout of mismanagement. We have arrested one person and prepared a list of people to be summoned,” he said after Satadru Dutta, the chief organiser of Messi’s India tour, was arrested. Dutta’s bail plea was rejected by a Bidhannagar court, following which he was remanded to 14-day judicial custody.

The police chief added that CCTV footage is being reviewed and more arrests are likely. He also said the police were not informed about the expanded guest list and that, despite a no-water-bottle policy for spectators, water bottles were allowed inside the venue during the event.

“No permission for water bottles was given. The additional guest list was not given to us. Vendors, too, will be questioned. We are checking CCTV footage. All those identified will be arrested,” he added.

According to the police, with tight security in place, everything was under control until 10 am. However, the matter escalated at 11:48 am, four minutes before Messi had left the venue.

“The crowd started shouting ‘boo boo’, and we could sense their dissatisfaction. Messi’s security team swiftly escorted him out, and as fans saw him leave, they began throwing bottles, chairs, and other objects onto the field,” the officer said.

Dutta was taken into custody on Saturday at Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi and his entourage ahead of their onward journey to Hyderabad.

The Bidhannagar Police have registered two suo motu cases against Dutta and unidentified individuals in connection with the rampage that followed the event at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. He has been charged under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Section 192 (provocation with intent to cause a riot), Sections 324(4)(5) and 326(5) (mischief), Section 132 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from duty), Sections 121(1) and 121(2) (causing hurt and grievous hurt to a public servant), and Sections 45 and 46 (abetment).

In addition, Dutta has been booked under Section 9 of the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act for subversive acts, as well as Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act for causing damage to public property.

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