‘Humiliation for Bengal’: Governor Slams Govt Over Messi Event Chaos
CV Ananda Bose calls Salt Lake Stadium incident humiliating, orders probe and action
- Governor terms Messi event chaos a “systemic failure”
- Fans vandalised Salt Lake Stadium after brief Messi appearance
- Governor orders judicial probe, organiser’s arrest and ticket refunds
- FIR filed, main organiser Shatadru Dutta arrested
GG News Bureau
Kolkata, 13th Dec: West Bengal Governor C. V. Ananda Bose on Saturday strongly criticised the chaos that erupted during football icon Lionel Messi’s brief appearance at Salt Lake Stadium, terming the incident a “systemic failure” and a humiliation for both the state and the sporting world.
Speaking to NDTV, Bose said the incident went far beyond mismanagement. “Sad is an understatement. It is not just humiliating for the people of West Bengal, but also for the entire sporting world. This is something Kolkata never deserved,” he said.
The Governor’s remarks came hours after thousands of angry football fans stormed the field and vandalised parts of Salt Lake Stadium when they failed to catch a glimpse of Messi during the first leg of his three-day India tour. With police struggling to maintain law and order, riot control forces had to be deployed to bring the situation under control.
Calling it “a dark day for the sports-loving people of Kolkata,” Bose held both the event organisers and the police responsible for the breakdown. He issued a set of 12 directives to the state government, including the ordering of a judicial inquiry, arrest of the organiser and refund of ticket money to spectators.
Following the Governor’s directions, an FIR was registered against the main organiser of the event, Shatadru Dutta, who was later arrested by the police.
Despite the turmoil, Messi continued with his India tour, departing for Hyderabad on Saturday evening. He is scheduled to visit Mumbai on Sunday and Delhi on Monday.
