Kolkata: Five people were arrested on Monday in connection with Saturday’s rampage at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium by a section of spectators who had bought tickets to see Argentine football star Lionel Messi but turned violent after he left in a hurry amid alleged mismanagement.
“Five persons were arrested by the Bidhannagar South police station in connection with the vandalism at Salt Lake stadium. Further investigation is going on,” a police officer said.
Meanwhile, at least three Public Interest Litigations (PILs), including one filed by BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari, were submitted in the Calcutta high court on Monday. “Why are the spectators being arrested? This is unjustified. I have moved the Calcutta high court. We have also demanded a stay on the arrests. The emotions of thousands of Messi’s fans have been shattered. The result of this will be very bad,” Adhikari said.
The officer said the five — Subhropratim Dey, Gourab Basu, Basudev Das, Sanjay Das and Abhijit Das — have been charged under relevant sections, including 132 (assaulting a police official), obstructing a public servant, 324(5) (damaging public property) and 3(5) (joint criminal liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act.
All five have been sent to judicial custody till December 22, the officer added.
Messi’s much-anticipated visit to the stadium, as part of the “GOAT (greatest of all time) tour”, lasted barely 22 minutes. The tour, which comprises a series of promotional events covering Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi, began with Messi virtually unveiling a 70ft statue of himself due to security concerns. Shortly after this, he left for the Salt Lake Stadium, where thousands of fans had been waiting since around 4 am.
The angry crowd hurled water bottles at police personnel and allegedly tried to set some property on fire. Nets from the goalposts and chairs in the stands were ripped off.
Allegations surfaced on social media on Sunday that amounts much higher than the costliest ticket prices were taken from some people with promises of selfies with Messi, and that bottles of branded purified water were sold inside the stadium in violation of safety rules.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee publicly apologised on Saturday and ordered an inquiry by a three-member committee headed by retired Calcutta high court judge Asim Kumar Roy. She also apologised to Messi and football fans on social media and announced the probe panel.
The organiser of Lionel Messi’s West Bengal tour, Satadru Dutta, was arrested on Saturday. A district court on Sunday remanded Dutta to police custody for two weeks.
Meanwhile, the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress and opposition Bharatiya Janata Party blamed each other for Saturday’s rampage
The petitions filed on Monday sought the court’s intervention to transfer the probe into the stadium violence to central agencies such as the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
“There is a high-level scam behind this event. Money has been raised from people by showcasing Messi. It is a huge public fraud. There has to be an audit by the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India). Where did all the money go? There has to be a proper investigation,” said Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay, an advocate who filed one of the PILs.
West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose labelled the chaos during the event a “management and systemic failure.”
“What happened that day should never have happened. It hurt the sentiments of football lovers and undermined the dignity of the common man. It is surprising that there was no SOP for such a large congregation of people. Everyone associated with this should be brought to book,” Bose said.
Accusing BJP of trying to defame the ruling party in the run-up to the 2026 assembly polls, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh shared a photo of BJP legislator and former Indian cricketer Ashok Dinda on the grounds. He also pointed at photos and videos of some of the spectators carrying saffron flags and raising the Jai Sri Ram slogan during the vandalism that prompted police to disperse the crowd.
