Kolkata: The bail petition of main organizer of Lionel Messi’s G.O.A.T tour to India, Shatadru Dutta, was rejected on Sunday and he was remanded to 14 days of police custody, according to reports. This comes after the vandalism caused by irate fans at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium over the alleged ‘mismanagement’ of the event featuring Messi there.
Dutta was arrested by West Bengal Police on Saturday afternoon on his way to board the chartered flight carrying the Argentine football star to Hyderabad for the tour’s second leg.
Reports claimed an FIR was also filed against Dutta on Saturday at the Bidhannagar South Police Station. The suo motu cases were initiated by the Bidhannagar Police, which charged Dutta for causing provocation with intent to cause a riot, mischief leading to wilful damage of property at the stadium complex, and other serious offences, reported the New Indian Express.
Dutta’s bail petition was rejected by the Bidhannagar sub-divisional court. According to reports, tension mounted outside the court as people shouted slogans of “chor, chor.” People also threw sandals at Dutta when he was being escorted into the court complex, the New Indian Express report states.
However, Dutta’s lawyer told the court that his client was not responsible for the chaos inside Salt Lake Stadium during Messi’s G.O.A.T India Tour event.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced on social media that an inquiry committee, chaired by Justice Asim Kumar Roy, a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court, had been formed to investigate the matter.
Why did the vandalism take place?
The event was supposed to be a marquee spectacle. But fans were reportedly irked over Messi’s brief and ring-fenced appearance at the venue. Reports claim that the football legend was crowded by VIPs and the fans who had paid as much as ₹20,000 for tickets or even more had failed to catch a glimpse of Messi.
Who is Shatadru Dutta?
Dutta, 45, is a sports promoter and business consultant and runs A Satadru Dutta Initiative, an event management and sports promotion company, reported the Hindustan Times. Various media reports claimed Dutta had brought football stars like Maradona and Pele to Kolkata. Dutta had apparently also organised the book launch event for Sourav Ganguly’s memoir ‘A Century Is Not Enough’, the Telegraph reported. According to several media reports, Dutta—a resident of Rishra in West Bengal—had begun his career as a finance and investment professional and later shifted to sports to pursue his passion.
