Former Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas has been summoned by the police in connection with a case related to chaos at the Lionel Messi event at Salt Lake Stadium last year, after he failed to appear before the investigators by Friday.
The TMC leader, who had earlier cited health issues and stated that he was not in a position to attend the summons, has been asked to appear before the investigators on June 8.
"We have asked Aroop Biswas to appear before our officers on June 8. A notice has been served to him today," an officer of Bidhannagar Dakshin police station said.
"The police officers investigating the matter need to question Aroop Biswas in connection with a complaint which we received in connection with the Messi incident," a police officer told PTI.
He was asked to appear before investigators by Friday, after an FIR was lodged against him by the event organiser Shatadru Dutta, accusing the former minister of black-marketing tickets, extortion, criminal intimidation and cheating in connection with the high-profile football event in December, 2005.
Bengal sports minister Nisith Pramanik last month indicated that the BJP government may investigate the "Messi fiasco".
On June 4 night, Kolkata Police arrested Swarup Biswas, brother of former sports minister Aroop Biswas, in connection with an extortion case registered at New Alipore Police Station. The complaint by Simran Pal alleged threats and intimidation to extort money, with police also probing possible use of weapons. This arrest comes as Swarup already faces scrutiny over alleged involvement in the Messi event ticket black-marketing scandal alongside his brother.
The event at the Salt Lake Stadium on December 13, 2025, had descended into chaos after a large number of people entered the venue allegedly without valid access, leading to security breaches and crowd disorder.
Many spectators who had bought expensive tickets complained that they could neither properly see Messi nor enjoy the programme due to overcrowding and mismanagement.
Messi left the ground quickly amid the commotion, following which sections of angry spectators vandalised parts of the stadium.
The controversy had triggered a political storm at the time, with fingers being pointed at the then sports minister Aroop Biswas over alleged lapses in planning and crowd management.
Shatadru Dutta was subsequently arrested by police and spent 37 days in custody before securing bail. Following his release, he blamed Biswas for the event’s collapse and the losses suffered by the organisers.
Dutta accused Aroop Biswas of demanding around 22,000 complimentary tickets and thousands of access passes, later sold in the black market, and of using his ministerial position to intimidate organisers.
Dutta claimed these actions led to overcrowding, security breaches, Messi’s early exit, and vandalism at Salt Lake Stadium in December 2025. The FIR also names other high-profile figures, alleging a coordinated misuse of influence during the event.