Former Sports Minister Aroop Biswas failed to appear before the Bidhannagar police on Monday, even after more than 48 hours have passed since the third notice was issued against him.
The police had issued a third notice against Biswas requiring him to appear at the police station within 48 hours. Biswas had skipped the earlier two summons issued against him in connection with the ‘Messi fiasco’.
That deadline given by the police expired at 12:00 pm on Monday but he did not show up defying the court’s directive.
Relief from Calcuttta High Court
Aroop had previously sought relief from the Calcutta High Court. However, the court said that the former Minister cannot evade questioning by the police. Following the court’s directive the Bidhannagar South police station had issued a fresh notice against him.
During the court’s hearing, Calcutta High Court judge Sougata Bhattacharyya said that if the police summons him, Aroop will have no choice but to be present at the police station on the designated date. The court also directed that there should not be any stay on the investigation.
On June 8, the Calcutta High Court had given Aroop Biswas protection from any coercise action taken by the police till August 17, however under certain conditions. Aroop has been asked to hand over his passport to the investigators. He has also been asked not to leave his police area without the permission of the local police. Aroop has also been directed to cooperate with the investigation.
What happened at Salt Lake Stadium
Argentine football legend Lionel Messi had to cut short his appearance owing to severe crowd mismanagement at the Salt Lake Stadium, leading to anger, vandalism and a police crackdown inside the venue.
Messi who was in India as part of his GOAT Tour, was forced to cut short his lap of honour at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake.
What is the case about
On May 17, Shatadru Dutta, the organizer of Messi’s ‘GOAT Tour’, filed an FIR against Aroop Biswas at the Bidhannagar South police station accusing him of offenses under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The FIR cited charges such as black-marketing of event tickets, extortion, criminal intimidation, negligence regarding security, during the mega event.