Messi event mess: Bengal Guv visits Salt Lake stadium for on-ground inspection

Kolkata: A day after chaos erupted during Argentine football icon Lionel Messi’s event at Salt Lake stadium here, West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose on Sunday visited the venue for a first-hand inspection.

Bose, accompanied by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and senior police officers, inspected different parts of the stadium as part of his assessment of the incident, officials said.

Bose was "denied" entry into the Salt Lake stadium on Saturday, after chaos and crowd trouble at the venue marred Messi's event. He had found the gates closed and the stadium lights switched off on his arrival.

The governor had alleged that the move was intended to block his entry and sought a detailed explanation.

Bose had earlier dubbed the incident at the Salt Lake stadium a "dark day for the sports-loving people of Kolkata".

He had directed the state government to arrest the event organiser, holding them squarely responsible for the chaos, and also blamed the police for failing the government, the people and the chief minister.

What was supposed to be a marquee football spectacle turned into widespread violence and disorder at the stadium on Saturday 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 travelled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.

Notably, members of a high-level inquiry committee, set up by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, also visited the stadium on Sunday to carry out their investigation.

The panel has been headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Ashim Kumar Ray, with Chief Secretary Pant and Home Secretary Nandini Chakravorty being its members.