West Bengal Governor Denied Entry At Salt Lake Stadium Amid Messi Event Chaos

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose was reportedly denied entry into the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after crowd disturbances and mismanagement overshadowed an event featuring football star Lionel Messi.

Bose described the incident as an affront to the constitutional position of the governor and has sought a formal reply from the authorities.

"I never write a report without seeing the spot... My report is half-ready. I want to see for myself what happened in Ground Zero," he told reporters outside the stadium, according to PTI.

"Is this the way West Bengal treats its governor? The governor is not a rubber stamp," Bose said, calling the episode a "ghastly irrelevance of a constitutional authority". He added that he would revisit the stadium on Sunday to examine the matter in detail.

"It is not a personal affront... this is an affront to the constitutional position of the governor. If truth can be hidden from the governor, maybe this is only the tip of the iceberg. I will certainly explore it to the hilt and establish the truth," Bose asserted. PTI reported that the governor said the police had already initiated an investigation and that his report would reflect "the point of view of the people who are affected".

Chaos broke out at the Salt Lake Stadium as spectators, frustrated at failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, engaged in vandalism, alleging gross mismanagement by organisers and obstruction of view by VIPs. PTI reported that police arrested the main event organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.

Earlier, Bose had called the incident a "dark day for the sports-loving people of Kolkata" and directed the state government to arrest the organiser, holding them responsible for the disorder. He also criticised the police for failing the government, the public, and the chief minister.

According to a Lok Bhavan official, Bose was particularly disturbed that the Chief Minister, scheduled to meet Messi, had to turn back midway due to the disruption. Bose demanded an immediate inquiry, refunds for ticket-holders, compensation for damage to the stadium and public property, suspension of police officers who failed to act, and the framing of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for large events.

He also instructed that the organiser be booked under attempt-to-murder charges, questioning how "Messi was made a commodity", PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI)