Cal HC concludes hearing of PILs over fiasco during Messi event, reserves judgement

Kolkata, Dec 22 (PTI) Hearing of three PILs over the fiasco during Argentine football legend Lionel Messi showcasing event last week that saw spectator rampage at the Salt Lake stadium here concluded before the Calcutta High Court on Monday.

The petitioners sought investigation into the incident by central agencies as well as refund of ticket price to the spectators, a section of whom had gone on a rampage over not being able to see their favourite star and early conclusion of the event following a messy situation on the ground with some people jostling around Messi, thus blocking the view of those seated on the stands.

The court reserved judgment after arguments by the parties in the matter were concluded.

The counsel for the West Bengal government argued before a division bench presided by Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul that the state did not sell the tickets, and it was an event organised by a private event management company.

Claiming that the investigation was being done in right earnest by the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate, he stated before the court that the state's director general of police (DGP) was issued a show cause letter over the incident.

The owner of the event management company, Satadru Dutta, was arrested on December 14, soon after the event on that day, in connection with the fiasco.

Dutta's lawyer submitted before the division bench, also comprising Justice Partha Sarathi Sen, that they were unaware as to how so many people, who milled around Messi blocking the view of the spectators, entered the ground as the police were in charge of entry points.

He further stated that the football legend's events were also held in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi and that all went off smoothly.

Billwadal Bhattacharya, the lawyer for Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, who is one of the petitioners, questioned the source of funds for organising the event and prayed that the court order an investigation by a competent central agency.

Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, representing another petitioner, submitted before the court that the enquiry committee formed by the state government is not a judicial commission, but is simply an administrative one.

The state's lawyer stated that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had, soon after the incident, expressed regret for the fiasco and that her government formed the committee comprising a retired high court judge and top officers of the administration.

He also said that the police are probing as to how water bottles, which were thrown onto the ground by irate spectators, found their way into the stadium when the police had ordered that these were among the objects not allowed to be taken inside. PTI AMR NN