Police on Saturday issued a third notice directing former sports minister Aroop Biswas to appear for questioning at Bidhannagar South police station in connection with a probe into vandalism during Lionel Messi’s visit to Salt Lake Stadium in December.

The notice instructs Biswas to appear before investigators in person within 48 hours of receipt, a senior officer said. Police had earlier asked him to appear on June 4 and June 8, but he did not comply.

In response to the first summons, Biswas told Bidhannagar police that he was unwell. However, he did not submit any supporting medical documents, police said.

Biswas is untraceable, according to police sources.

He has been accused of cheating, extortion, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy and common intention in connection with the stadium vandalism in December.

The FIR against him was lodged at Bidhannagar South police station by event organiser Satadru Dutta, who was arrested shortly after the incident and is now out on bail.

“I was arrested within an hour of the event coming to an abrupt end. Why is he evading the police?” Dutta said on Saturday.

The fresh notice comes within days of a Calcutta High Court order asking police not to take coercive action against Biswas for the time being.

On June 10, Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya directed Biswas to deposit his passport with the court and restrained him from leaving the jurisdiction of his local police station in New Alipore without permission from Bidhannagar police. The court observed that there was no immediate need for Biswas to be in custody.

A senior officer of the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said: “There is a clear direction that he cannot be taken into custody. He should show up. If he does not, we will inform the court and take necessary steps. The court has directed him to cooperate with the police.”

In his complaint, Dutta alleged that Biswas demanded thousands of complimentary tickets and accreditation passes to access the pitch, and threatened to cancel the programme if his demands were not met.