Messi Uncomfortable With Crowd Contact At Kolkata Event, Organiser Tells SIT

Lionel Messi left the Salt Lake Stadium before completing his scheduled appearance on December 13 after becoming uncomfortable with repeated physical contact from people on the field, the arrested main organiser of the event, Satadru Dutta, has told investigators, according to PTI.

During extended questioning by officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Dutta said the Argentine football star “did not like being touched on the back or being hugged” and that this concern had been conveyed in advance by foreign security officials tasked with Messi’s protection, PTI reported on Saturday, citing a senior SIT source.

“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,” Dutta told investigators during his grilling on Friday, the source said.

According to PTI, West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas was seen standing close to Messi throughout the programme, with video footage showing him holding the footballer around the waist while posing for photographs. Biswas has since been accused of using his position to facilitate access for relatives and personal acquaintances to the footballer. Amid growing criticism, he resigned from his post as sports minister pending completion of the investigation.

Investigators are also examining how such a large number of individuals managed to gain access to the ground area, a key factor that appears to have contributed to the collapse of crowd control.

Dutta told the SIT that while only 150 ground passes were initially issued, the number was later tripled after a “very influential person” arrived at the stadium and “overpowered him”, PTI reported. Police are probing whether the sudden increase in access directly led to the chaos on the field.

“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,” an official said.

According to PTI, Dutta also shared financial details related to Messi’s India tour during interrogation. “Lionel Messi was paid Rs 89 crore for the tour, while Rs 11 crore was paid as tax to the Indian government,” he told investigators, placing the total expenditure at Rs 100 crore. Sources said 30 per cent of the amount was raised through sponsorships, while another 30 per cent came from ticket sales.

Meanwhile, officers of the SIT found over Rs 20 crore in Dutta’s frozen bank accounts, the official said. Following raids at Dutta’s residence on Friday, investigators seized several documents, according to PTI.

“Dutta claimed that the amount in his bank account was the money which he got from selling the tickets for the Messi event in Kolkata and Hyderabad and also from the sponsors. We are verifying his claims,” the officer said.

Thousands of spectators had purchased high-priced tickets for the event at Salt Lake Stadium. However, the programme descended into disorder as large numbers of people crowded around Messi on the field, leaving him barely visible from the galleries. The situation triggered anger among fans, some of whom later vandalised parts of the stadium.

The West Bengal government has constituted a Special Investigation Team comprising senior IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar and Muralidhar to probe the vandalism at the Argentine star’s event, PTI reported. The SIT is also investigating security lapses, access violations, and the roles played by organisers and officials in the incident, the officer added.

(With inputs from PTI)