On a day Lionel Messi tore through the Algerian defence in Kansas, a document from his legal team in Calcutta shredded the then Bengal government’s defence for the fiasco at Salt Lake Stadium last year.
The chief consultant and chief adviser of Messi Tour of India has written to Bidhannagar police about how the security protocol of the Argentine wizard was breached by then sports minister Aroop Biswas, sources said.
The letter has come from someone physically present at the Salt Lake Stadium along with the footballer when the breach happened on December 13, the Messi tour’s chief organiser, Satadru Dutta, said on Wednesday.
The letter is said to have found no fault with Dutta, also an accused in the botch-up, saying that calling off the programme prematurely was the only option for him at that stage.
“This shows that from Day I, I was made the scapegoat. However, it was the behaviour of the (former) sports minister that compromised the security of Lionel Messi,” Dutta told The Telegraph on Wednesday.
Dutta added he had been saying for months that the former sports minister was not a part of the show’s flow. “I had been saying this for many months.... The minister was threatening me if I did not allow him entry to the field. The way he touched Messi on his shoulder and waist for photographs, the footballer’s safety was
certainly compromised,” Dutta added.
Bidhannagar police commissioner Tripurari Atharv did not take calls or respond to a text message seeking his reaction to the letter sent to him.
A swarm of VIPs and their uncles, led by Biswas, breached the security ring and went dangerously close to Messi. The football legend was allegedly touched several times before his team decided enough was enough and led him off the pitch on December 13. Hundreds of men and women, who had bought expensive tickets but were denied even a glimpse of Messi, broke through the fencing and invaded
the pitch.
Biswas and several from his family were spotted getting close to Messi to have themselves photographed.
The then Trinamool government had tried to put the entire blame on Dutta and arrested him within hours of the incident.
After Dutta obtained bail, he lodged a formal complaint against Biswas for the security breach and alleged extortion. Bidhannagar police have issued three summons to Biswas. The former minister has skipped all three.
A source privy to the letter said on Wednesday it mentions: “Wish to categorically clarify that Mr Messi’s early departure was purely a consequence of unauthorised personnel becoming involved on the field and trying to alter the agreed plans, plus the unsecure nature of the many unaccredited people on the field.”
The letter expresses disappointment that the event had to be terminated before schedule, but mentions that it was “not in the control of the event promoter, Mr Satadru Dutta, and he was not responsible for this”, the source said.
“Rather, it was a precautionary measure necessitated by the breach of event protocol and security arrangements on the ground by parties that were not part of the original event plan,” the source said, quoting from the letter.
The letter is said to mention that Messi did not face any security concerns at any of the other stadiums that were also part of his GOAT India Tour.
The approved protocol in the field when Messi was there was “no dignitaries on the field and only 3 camera operators”, the source said. “(But) it was disrupted when the then Sports Minister entered the field of play and became involved in activities that were not part of the scheduled programme,” the source said, quoting from the letter.
“These actions, together with the presence of several other unauthorised individuals and approximately 40 unaccredited photographers and camera operators in restricted areas, disrupted the agreed events planned for the visit and created concerns regarding Mr Messi’s security, comfort and personal space, and made it impossible for him to interact with the events and individuals planned on the stadium field,” the source further quoted from the letter.
The earlier Bengal government had promised a refund of the tickets for the cancelled Calcutta event. However, no refund has been initiated yet.