Messi in Kolkata: A Complete Failure of Governance and Security

Hyderabad succeeded. Mumbai succeeded. Delhi succeeded. However, Kolkata, the cradle of Indian football, failed completely. Lionel Messi arrived and stayed for hardly 22 minutes. Meanwhile, ministers of the Trinamool Congress and their associates remained busy taking selfies on the field. As a result, football lovers could not even catch a glimpse of him. Consequently, an angry crowd resorted to vandalism. They hurled water bottles. Even though the Chief Minister attempted to go to the venue, she turned back midway. In short, this sums up visit of Messi in Kolkata. It is a shame for Trinamool Congress and West Bengal too.

Meanwhile, the police arrested Shatadru Dutta. In addition, the government formed an inquiry commission under a former judge. The commission has already begun its work. The very next day, it conducted an on-site investigation at the ground. At the same time, the police became active after the incident.

They did not stop with Shatadru alone. Instead, they arrested five people involved in the vandalism. After reviewing CCTV footage, they may make more arrests. The police took Shatadru into police custody. However, they sent the five others to judicial custody. As expected, the political temperature has risen.

Subhendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition, has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the High Court.

Water Bottle Issue

The police clearly announced that spectators could not enter the stadium with water bottles. In fact, the Government imposed a ban on water bottles in the stadium in 2017. Only the authorities permitted empty pouches and tap water. However, vendors sold water bottles inside the stadium at ₹200 each.

According to news reports, nearly 60,000 water bottles entered the venue. People also saw that vendors are selling food inside the stadium.

Meanwhile, television channels reported that the authorities had awarded a tender to a company to supply these items. The truth of this claim has not yet been verified. Nevertheless, the sale of water bottles and food could not have happened without the police noticing it. Yet, the police did not arrest anyone in connection with this issue.

Police Failure during Messi in Kolkata

At this point, suspicion naturally deepens. The police claimed that the water bottles entered the stadium under the cover of darkness at night. However, sources say the bottles entered at 8 A.M. If the bottles passed through police checks, the state police failed completely. After all, the police maintained a large presence at the stadium. The police in West Bengal starts finding scapegoats in the regime of Trinamool Congress.

If 60,000 water bottles could enter without police notice, then explosives could have entered just as easily. Moreover, the Chief Minister planned to visit the stadium that day.

And, of course, Messi is an extremely high-value international star. In other words, any threat to such a VVIP could have escalated into an international diplomatic issue.

Was the West Bengal Government aware?

Messi’s teammates, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul, faced uncomfortable situations. Some people received elbow blows, while others suffered scratches on their faces.

Moreover, Minister Arup Biswas’s brazen insistence on taking a selfie with Messi drew widespread attention. As a result, not only did ordinary spectators feel deprived, but Messi’s security phalanx also assessed the situation on the field as unsafe. Therefore, Messi’s security team immediately removed him from the stadium. So, the visit of Messi in Kolkata remains in despair.

Event Management and Disaster Management

Now let us turn to Shatadru Dutta. His earlier events were not incident-free either. Even so, the authorities entrusted him with the responsibility of bringing Messi in Kolkata. Why did they make this choice? How many meetings did Shatadru Dutta hold with Arup Biswas and Sujit Bose, the top leaders of Trinamool Congress?  How many free passes did he have to distribute in West Bengal?

Moreover, FIFA granted certification to Salt Lake Stadium. Did the authorities allow the number of people inside the stadium in accordance with the law? The police seemed more focused on self-protection. Why did no one try to calm the spectators?

History offers clear lessons. When Sachin Tendulkar got out on the first ball, the crowd became extremely emotional.

At that time, then BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya requested Sachin himself to appeal to the spectators to remain calm and it cast a magical impact.

Similarly, when the Shah Rukh–Sourav conflict reached its peak, the two walked around the field together after the match to ease tensions.

Messi in Kolkata: A day of failures

That day, the stadium had a Bengali heartthrob, Sourav Ganguly, present. Why did no one from West Bengal state authorities even attempt to use him to calm the crowd?

During this Trinamool Congress regime, why did none of its leaders appeal to the spectators to remain calm? Does this mean their popularity has fallen sharply? Although the people elected them, they can no longer manage the public effectively.

Had the Chief Minister reached the stadium and made an attempt, it might have helped. After slightly stabilizing the situation and keeping leaders and ministers out, why did no one try to bring Messi back onto the field? They could even have asked Messi to make an appeal to the crowd.

How did a few people roam around the stadium carrying large iron rods with BJP flags attached? How did they enter with those rods without the police noticing? Why does our disaster management system become so weak the moment anything goes wrong?

Messi’s Kolkata visit smeared the face of West Bengal because of the complete failure of the entire system.