Messi Kolkata event chaos: More cops deployed near event organiser’s house
Kolkata: Following the chaos at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan stadium aka Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata during Lionel Messi’s event, the police on Sunday increased security outside the event organiser, Satadru Dutta’s house in Hooghly district’s Rishra.
Dutta was arrested at the city airport shortly after the incident on Saturday.
He was the main organiser responsible for bringing Lionel Messi to Kolkata. Additional police personnel were deployed overnight to prevent any agitation by fans seeking a refund of their ticket. A police picket was also set up in this regard.
Meanwhile, additional police were also deployed at the Rishra police station to ensure that the repercussions of the incident did not spread to the locality.
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Having paid exorbitant prices for tickets, the patience of the fans ran out when they couldn’t see their favourite star, even after going to the stadium.
The Yuva Bharati stadium turned into a battleground due to the spectators’ rage, and vandalism was carried out. Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
Dutta’s house is in the Bangur Park area of Rishra. While everything seemed normal in the morning, the situation changed after noon on Saturday. The doors and windows of the house were closed. The atmosphere was completely tense. On the other hand, the number of police officers in front of Dutta’s house gradually increased since Sunday morning. One police van after another arrived.
Following the incident, the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate is also on high alert. The officials do not want to take any further chances. Therefore, keeping the city’s security in mind, extra forces were deployed to the Rishra police station overnight.
“After yesterday’s incident, there is a possibility that fans might turn up outside his house for another round of protest. Therefore, additional police personnel have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident,” said a senior officer of Chandannagar Police Commissionerate.