The fallout from the violent spectator rampage at Salt Lake Stadium during Argentine football legend Lionel Messi’s promotional appearance reached the Calcutta High Court on Monday, with Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Pal permitting the filing of three separate public interest litigations linked to the incident.
The petitions seek court intervention to transfer the probe into the stadium violence to central agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.
The PILs have been filed separately by Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari and advocates Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay and Mainak Ghoshal. The court indicated that all three matters are likely to be heard together later this week.
Appearing for Adhikari, advocate Bilwadal Bhattacharya sought permission to move the court to examine the circumstances that led to the large-scale crowd unrest on Saturday. He also questioned the authority and credibility of the three-member inquiry committee constituted by the state government, headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Ashim Kumar Ray.
The petition alleged that the incident had caused embarrassment to the state at an international level, given the global attention surrounding Messi’s visit.
The other two petitions contended that the state-appointed committee was formed in haste and sought an independent investigation into alleged financial irregularities in ticket sales. They also raised concerns about suspicious monetary transactions linked to the organisation managing the event.
Meanwhile, Bidhannagar Police, which is currently probing the case, has frozen the bank accounts of the organisation responsible for selling and distributing tickets. Police have also ordered the suspension of all financial transactions between the organisation and Shatadru Dutta, the prime organiser of the event, who has been arrested.
The high-level committee led by Justice Ashim Kumar Ray, which also includes the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary, visited the vandalised stadium on Sunday to assess the damage. Addressing the media, the committee said it would submit its report within the next two weeks.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the formation of the committee within hours of the incident, stating that its mandate included fixing accountability and recommending measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
According to official estimates, the rampage caused damage exceeding ₹2 crore to the stadium. The unrest reportedly broke out after Messi’s brief and tightly secured appearance, his first at the venue since 2011, left large sections of the crowd disappointed. Many spectators, who had travelled long distances and paid high ticket prices, were unable to get a clear glimpse of the football icon, triggering widespread outrage and vandalism.
