Kolkata: The West Bengal government has issued show-cause notices to Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Kumar and Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Mukesh while suspending the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DC), Bidhannagar Division, Aneesh Sarkar, in connection with the alleged mismanagement during Argentine football icon Lionel Messi’s visit to the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (VYBK).
The action follows the recommendations of an inquiry committee constituted by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after the apparent rampage at the Salt Lake stadium during the event.
The DGP has been asked to explain why the alleged lapses and mismanagement occurred and why effective coordination with stakeholders, including the private organiser, was not ensured. The Bidhannagar Police Commissioner has been asked to clarify the role and conduct of the commissionerate in the alleged mismanagement at the Salt Lake stadium. The suspended DC of Bidhannagar Division will also face departmental proceedings.
In addition, Rajesh Kumar Sinha, principal secretary of the Youth Affairs and Sports Department has been issued a show-cause notice seeking an explanation over lapses and mismanagement, while the chief executive officer of VYBK, Deb Kumar Nandan has been removed from his post.
Meanwhile, the state administration has also formed a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident. The SIT will be led by Director of Security, Peeyush Pandey, with Additional Director General (ADG), Law and Order, Jawed Shamim, ADG, South Bengal, Supratim Sarkar, and Barrackpore Police Commissioner Murli Dhar as members.
Following the disorder on Saturday (December 13), the Chief Minister had constituted a three-member inquiry committee headed by retired Calcutta High Court judge Justice Ashim Kumar Ray. The committee submitted its report and recommendations to the state government on Monday, based on which show-cause notices were issued on Tuesday to the DGP and the Bidhannagar Police Commissioner, directing them to respond within 24 hours.
The city witnessed large-scale chaos during the Messi event on Saturday, leading to vandalism of public property worth crores of rupees and an apparent security breach, allegedly due to mismanagement by private organiser Shatadru Dutta and the police administration. Dutta was later arrested at the airport following the registration of a suo motu FIR at the Bidhannagar South police station. He was produced before a court on Sunday and remanded to police custody for 14 days. Five others arrested for vandalism and attacking police personnel were remanded to judicial custody till December 22.