Messi was ‘unhappy with being touched or hugged' at Kolkata event: Organiser tells SIT
Satadru Dutta, the organiser of Messi's Kolkata event, revealed the football star was uncomfortable with physical contact and left early.
The main organiser of Lionel Messi's tour, Satadru Dutta, who was arrested on December 13, told investigators that the football icon was "unhappy with being touched or hugged" during his appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium and left before staying the full scheduled time, PTI reported, citing a person in the SIT on Saturday.
In a prolonged questioning by officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Dutta was quoted by the news portal as saying that Messi "did not like being touched on the back or being hugged" and that this issue had been informed in advance by the foreign security officials in charge of the footballer's security.
“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 report noted.
West Bengal Sports Minister resigns
West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas was seen near Messi during the event. He has been accused of using his influence to grant access to Messi for relatives and personal contacts, the report said. Facing increasing criticism, he resigned from his position as sports minister while the investigation continues.
Investigators are also examining how so many individuals managed to access the ground area.
Messia Kolkata event issue
Thousands of spectators bought expensive tickets to attend the event at Salt Lake Stadium, but chaos erupted when a crowd gathered around Messi on the field. This made him nearly invisible from the stands and caused fans' anger, leading some to vandalise sections of the stadium afterwards.
The West Bengal government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) consisting of senior IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar, and Muralidhar to probe the vandalism at Lionel Messi’s event at Salt Lake stadium. The SIT is also examining security lapses, access violations, and the involvement of organisers and officials in the incident, the officer said.
What led to the chaos?
Dutta also informed that initially only 150 ground passes were distributed, but were later tripled after a "very influential person" arrived at the stadium and "overpowered him." Authorities are investigating whether the increased access played a direct role in the failure of crowd control.
"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," the official told PTI.
Financial details of Messi's tour
Additionally, Dutta revealed financial details related to Messi's India visit.
With the total expenditure being ₹100 crore, Dutta told investigators, “Lionel Messi was paid ₹89 crore for the tour, while ₹11 crore was paid as tax to the Indian government.” Around 30% of the amount was sourced from sponsors, and another 30% was generated through ticket sales, the report said.
Meanwhile, SIT officers discovered more than ₹20 crore in frozen bank accounts of Dutta, an officer told the news portal.
On Friday, after the raids at Dutta's residence, SIT officers confiscated multiple items, he added.
"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.