Vandalism: Bidhannagar Police DD to handle investigation

Kolkata: In a major development in the probe into the suo motu case registered against the organisers of Argentine football icon Lionel Messi’s visit to the city, the investigation has been taken over by the Detective Department (DD) of Bidhannagar City Police on Monday.

However, the separate case registered against those involved in vandalising the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (VYKB), popularly known as Salt Lake Stadium, will continue to be investigated by the Bidhannagar South police station.

The stadium was vandalised on Saturday

following public outrage over alleged mismanagement during Messi’s presence at the venue. Spectators alleged that excessive crowding around the Argentine footballer prevented many from seeing him.

Angry spectators vandalised seats and chairs in the galleries and hurled broken parts along with water bottles at police personnel.

Later in the evening, a suo motu case was registered against chief organiser Satadru Dutta and others involved in organising the event.

Sources said that in view of the controversy surrounding Saturday’s incident, it was decided on Monday to transfer the investigation into the case against the organisers to the Detective Department of Bidhannagar City Police. After taking over the probe, the DD summoned six managers for questioning on Tuesday.