West Bengal Police has taken strict action in the matter of massive disorder and vandalism during Lionel Messi’s GOAT India Tour 2025 in Kolkata. A state court on Sunday (December 14) sent Shatadru Dutta, the promoter and chief organizer of the event, to 14-day police custody. The action came a day after the events at the Salt Lake Stadium, which have sparked massive protests, political rhetoric and a high-level investigation.
Shatadru Dutta was produced in Bidhannagar court after his arrest. While being taken to the court, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers protested outside the court premises and accused the organizers of cheating and misleading the audience. Police have arrested Dutta under charges of public disorder, serious lapse in crowd management and failure of security planning.
The event, held on December 13, was promoted as a major football extravaganza, but things went out of control after Messi’s very brief and tight security presence. A large number of spectators had come from far-flung states and had bought expensive tickets, but could not even catch a glimpse of the star player.
Frustration and anger quickly turned into violence. The spectators broke chairs, barricades and railings in the gallery. After this, the police registered an FIR and took immediate action and detained the main organizer.
The day after the incident, a three-member high-level inquiry committee constituted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inspected the Salt Lake Stadium. The committee is headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Ashim Kumar Ray, while it also includes Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Home Secretary Nandini Chakraborty.
The committee took a detailed look at the entire activities, security arrangements, access corridors and surrounding galleries from Messi’s entry to his exit from the stadium. Broken plastic chairs, bent barricades, torn banners, scattered shoes and damaged fiberglass seats were seen in several blocks. Cleaning and repair work was temporarily halted for the investigation. Videography and photography of the entire inspection was done.
After the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologized to Messi and football fans and announced to set up a committee to fix responsibility and ensure that such events do not happen in future. According to police officials, the investigation will pay special attention to the role of ticketing, entry management, deployment of security forces and coordination between the organizers and the administration.
Meanwhile, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has also expressed serious concern. Ticket prices for the event, which was attended by around 50,000 spectators, ranged between Rs 4,000 and Rs 12,000, with reports reaching up to Rs 20,000 in the black market. The dissatisfaction among the common spectators deepened as the crowd gathered around Messi amid the siege of VVIPs, politicians and security personnel in the stadium.
The inquiry committee is likely to submit its report to the state government in the coming days, while the organizer will be thoroughly interrogated during police custody on decisions related to the planning, permission process and conduct of the event.
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