NEW DELHI: Satadru Dutta, the main organizer of Lionel Messi’s event held on December 13 and now under arrest, has told investigators that the footballer was unhappy with physical contact during his appearance at the Salt Lake Stadium and left the venue before completing the scheduled programme, news agency PTI reported on Saturday, quoting a source in the Special Investigation Team (SIT).During questioning, Dutta told SIT officers that Messi “did not like being touched on the back or being hugged” and that this concern had been communicated in advance by foreign security officials assigned to protect the footballer, the source said.
“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 added, as cited by the PTI.West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas was seen close to Messi during the programme, with visuals showing him holding the footballer around the waist while posing for photographs. Biswas has been accused of using his influence to allow relatives and personal acquaintances access to Messi. Amid criticism, he resigned from his post as sports minister pending completion of the investigation.Investigators are examining how a large number of people were allowed to access the ground area. Dutta claimed that initially only 150 ground passes were issued, but the number was tripled after a “very influential person” arrived at the stadium and “overpowered him”. Police are checking whether the increase in access led to the crowd control failure.“The arrested accused also claimed that once that particular influential person reached the stadium, all the flow-chart for the Messi program got disturbed and he could not control it,” the official told PTI.Dutta also shared financial details related to Messi’s India visit. “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, putting the total cost at Rs 100 crore. Sources said 30 per cent of the amount came from sponsors and another 30 per cent from ticket sales.SIT officers also found more than Rs 20 crore in Dutta’s frozen bank accounts. On Friday, they seized several documents during raids at his residence.“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.What was supposed to be a marquee football spectacle turned into widespread violence and disorder at the stadium last week after Messi’s brief and tightly ring-fenced appearance, his first at the venue since 2011, left large sections of the crowd frustrated.They failed to catch a glimpse of their superstar despite having traveled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.The West Bengal government has formed an SIT comprising senior IPS officers Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar and Muralidhar to investigate the vandalism, security lapses, access violations and the role of organizers and officials in the incident, the officer added.
