Police launch probe within 24 hrs of plaint

Kolkata: Less than 24 hours of receiving the complaint, Bidhannagar Police has started a probe into allegations raised by Satadru Dutta, the organiser of the Messi India tour, against former sports minister Aroop Biswas, former DG Rajeev Kumar, New Alipore councillor Juin Biswas and IAS officer Santanu Basu for allegedly sabotaging the event at the Salt Lake stadium in Dec 2025."We have started an investigation. An FIR will be registered and specific sections will be invoked based on the findings of the preliminary enquiry," said Manish Joshi, DC (detective department) of Bidhannagar City Police.In his complaint, Dutta alleged that Biswas misused his powers and influence to facilitate the entry of unauthorised people on to the pitch, leading to harassment of Messi. According to him, the incident forced the football star to leave the venue prematurely, leaving thousands of spectators disappointed.A senior Bidhannagar City Police officer said the investigators were rechecking CCTV footage and speaking to witnesses to verify the allegations.Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, Dutta said he was looking forward to a thorough and impartial investigation into the fiasco, which he claimed was caused by intrusion and trespassing. According to him, the chaos led to Messi, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul leaving the event in a huff nearly 50 minutes before their scheduled departure.Dutta said only 100 people — including then chief minister Mamata Banerjee, actor Shah Rukh Khan, former cricketer Sourav Ganguly, players and officials of Mohun Bagan and Diamond Harbour FC, flag-bearers and around 40-50 children — were initially scheduled to be on the ground."Aroop Biswas was not even a part of the show floor. I had handed out 393 access cards, including those for performers and vendors. But that day, there were around 250 unauthorised people on the ground who had gained entry through cards issued by Biswas. Biswas forced me to part with 30-40 access cards. But many more people entered the ground," Dutta said.He further alleged that he was also forced to hand over 22,000 tickets to Biswas, claiming they were later sold through an outlet in Bijoygarh. The sports event organiser squarely blamed Biswas, his family members and associates for "sabotaging" the event.Dutta also blamed Rajeev Kumar and other senior officers, including then Kolkata Police commissioner Supratim Sarkar, for allegedly mishandling security arrangements and ignoring his repeated concerns.