Messi Event Chaos in Kolkata: Chief Organiser Sent to 14-Day Police Custody
Datta was arrested by the Bidhannagar Police on Saturday for "mismanagement" of the event from the Kolkata airport, where he had gone to see off Messi and his entourage on their way to Hyderabad
Kolkata: A city court on Sunday rejected the bail prayer of Satadru Dutta, the arrested organiser of Lionel Messi's GOAT India Tour, and remanded him in a 14-day police custody for the vandalism by the furious football fans at Salt Lake Stadium.
Mr Dutta, with head covered, was produced at the Bidhannagar Court during the day. His lawyer Dyutimoy Bhattacharya appealed to the judge to grant bail to his client as he was not involved in the rampage by the angry spectators at the stadium on Saturday.
He also submitted that Mr Dutta, who has been booked on various charges of public property damage, had organised the event to help the budding footballers to get inspired by seeing the Argentine captain. Public prosecutor Amitabha Lala however opposed the bail plea.
Referring to the heavy crowd surrounding Messi, he pointed out that Mr Dutta as an organiser was supposed to decide who would accompany the football icon to the ground but he did not do that. As a result, the spectators could not get a glimpse of Messi from the gallery.
Mr Lala then cited ten reasons to seek police remand of Mr Dutta for his interrogation. Hearing both sides, the judge later sent Mr Dutta in the police remand for two weeks. Meanwhile, a probe team, which was set up by chief minister Mamata Banerjee, inspected the stadium.
Retired judge Asim Kumar Ray, who heads the inquiry panel, visited the gallery and the ground. He was accompanied by state chief secretary Manoj Panth and state home secretary Nandini Chakraborty. The top two bureaucrats are also members of the team.
A videography of the destruction of infrastructure was done. Asked about the findings, Mr Ray said, "Don't do any analysis now. We are actively probing it from all angles. We noted whatever we saw. Everything will be mentioned in our report. The inquiry is in its primary stage. So nothing can be said now.”
Saturday’s incident has left the ruling Trinamul Congress in a tight spot as football fans of the state have blamed two of its ministers, Aroop Biswas and Sujit Bose, for hogging the limelight with Messi throughout his tour.
