Messi was ‘unhappy’ with being touched at Kolkata event, arrested main organiser tells SIT
During lengthy interrogation by Special Investigation Team (SIT) officers, Dutta said Messi “does not like to have his back touched or hugged” and that this concern was conveyed in advance by foreign security officials responsible for the footballer’s protection.
“Despite repeated public announcements to restrain the crowd, there was no effect. The way Messi was surrounded and embraced was completely unacceptable for the World Cup-winning football player,” the source told investigators during interrogation on Friday.
West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas was seen very close to Messi throughout the programme, with images showing him holding the footballer by the waist as he posed for photos.
Biswas is accused of using his influence to allow relatives and personal acquaintances access to Messi. Following increasing criticism, he resigned from his post as sports minister until the investigation was completed.
Investigators are also investigating how such a large number of people gained access to the ground area.
Dutta also claimed that initially only 150 ground passes were allowed, but that number tripled after a “very influential person” reached the stadium and “overpowered him”. Police are examining whether expanded access directly contributed to the breakdown of crowd control. “The arrested defendant also claimed that the entire flow chart of the Messi program was disrupted when the influential person in question reached the stadium and that he could not control it.” he said.
Dutta also revealed financial details regarding Messi’s visit to India.
“Lionel Messi was paid 89 billion Rupees for the tour, while 11 billion Rupees were paid to the Indian government as taxes,” he told investigators, putting the total expenditure at 100 billion Rupees. Sources said that 30 percent of this amount was obtained from sponsors and 30 percent from ticket sales.
Meanwhile, the officer said that over Rs 20 billion was found by SIT officers in Dutta’s frozen bank accounts.
He added that SIT sleuths seized a large number of documents after raids on Dutta’s house on Friday.
“Dutta claimed that the amount in his bank account was money he had earned by selling tickets for Messi events in Kolkata and Hyderabad and also from sponsors. We are verifying his claims,” the official said.
Thousands of spectators had purchased high-priced tickets to attend the event at the Salt Lake Stadium, but the program descended into chaos as large numbers of people gathered around Messi on the pitch, leaving him barely visible from the galleries and sparking anger among fans, some of whom later vandalized parts of the stadium.
The West Bengal government had formed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising senior IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar and Muralidhar, to probe the vandalism at Argentinian football star Lionel Messi’s event held at the Salt Lake stadium. The SIT is also investigating security breaches, access violations and the role of organizers and officials in the incident, the official added.
