Messi India tour chaos: Organiser says Rs 89cr paid, Rs 11cr as tax; alleges pressure to triple access cards

KOLKATA: Messi received Rs 89 crore for his India tour and another Rs 11 crore was paid to the govt as tax, Satadru Dutta, the organiser of the event, told police. Dutta was arrested within hours of the mayhem breaking out at Salt Lake stadium during the Messi event, with the police holding him responsible for the disorder, him being the chief organiser.

Police have seized Rs 22 crore from Dutta's various bank accounts and frozen the accounts following leads from the SIT, formed by the state, which carried out a raid on his Rishra residence on Friday. Dutta's interrogations over the past 48 hours were led by security director Peeyush Pandey. "Dutta claimed Rs 100 crore was spent on the Messi tour, with some of the funds coming from sponsors and the rest from ticket sales. But the total figures attributed to ticket sales and sponsors cover 60%-70% of the total cost, leading investigators to doubt his claims," said an officer.

The investigators suspect that black money might have been used in Messi's show. However, it has not been clarified whether this amount includes money from ticket sales or funds received from sponsors. Police also said Dutta had not stated anything about any financial irregularities related to the event.

No senior SIT official came on record on the developments, citing procedures and legal hassles.

The Bidhannagar Police had earlier asked the online ticketing partner not to release the ticket money proceeds to Dutta or his company's accounts.

Dutta reportedly made several other "explosive" claims. He claimed that though initially about 150 ground access cards were issued, he had to triple the number based on "pressures from multiple quarters, all of whom were influential." Even this claim was not confirmed officially.

According to police sources, Dutta, blamed "everyone" around Messi on Dec 13, for the fiasco except himself. During his questioning, Dutta repeatedly claimed that Messi did not appreciate being touched on the back or hogged for selfies by "random people." Messi even informed the officials responsible for his own security of such a development. Despite repeated announcements for people to move away, it was of no use, Dutta told cops, according to sources.

The police have already filed two cases in this incident so far. A suo moto case was registered at Bidhannagar South Police Station. The charges include causing unrest, vandalism, spreading violence, and activities endangering public safety. Additionally, several non-bailable charges have been filed against Dutta.



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