Messi event stadium rampage: Calcutta HC to hear petitions seeking transfer of probe to central agencies

Ripples of Saturday's Salt Lake Stadium spectator rampage during Argentine football legend Lionel Messi's showcase event reached the corridors of the Calcutta High Court on Monday, after Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Pal allowed the filing of three separate PILs related to the fiasco.

The petitions sought the court’s intervention to transfer the probe into the stadium violence to central agencies such as the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).

The petitions, separately moved by the state's Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari and advocates Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay and Mainak Ghoshal, are likely to be heard together by the court later this week.

Appearing for Adhikari, advocate Bilwadal Bhattacharya sought permission to file a petition seeking the court's intervention into unearthing the factors that led to the crowd unrest on Saturday. He also challenged the authority of the three-member inquiry committee constituted by the state government and headed by retired justice Ashim Kumar Ray.

The turn of events led to a loss of face for West Bengal before the entire world, the petitioner alleged.

The other two petitions claimed that the state-appointed committee was constituted in haste and prayed that possible financial irregularities in the sale of tickets and suspicious monetary transactions linked to the event should also be probed.

Bidhannagar Police, which is currently investigating the case, has ordered the freezing of bank accounts of the organisation responsible for the sale and distribution of tickets and has directed the stoppage of monetary transactions between the organisation and Shatadru Dutta, the prime organiser of the event, who has since been arrested, officials said.

The state-appointed high-level committee led by retired justice Ashim Kumar Ray, which also comprises the chief secretary and home secretary as members, visited the ransacked stadium on Sunday to take stock of the damages and informed reporters that it would submit its report within the next fortnight.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while announcing the formation of the committee within hours of the incident, said its mandate included fixing accountability and suggesting measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

An estimated damage of over Rs 2 crore to the stadium was caused on account of spectator outrage, who resorted to an unprecedented rampage after Messi's brief and tightly ring-fenced appearance—his first at the venue since 2011—left large sections of the crowd frustrated, as they failed to catch a glimpse of their superstar despite having travelled from far and wide, paying hefty sums for tickets.