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Messi event fiasco: Bengal sports min resigns; state show-causes DGP, others for 'mismanagement'

Kolkata, Dec 16 (PTI) Two days after widespread spectator rampage marred a marquee football event featuring Argentine legend Lionel Messi at the Salt Lake stadium, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accepted the sports minister's resignation, while the state government show-caused the DGP and other senior officers, and suspended a deputy commissioner. A resignation letter written to Banerjee by Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, who has remained in the eye of the storm since the stadium fiasco for his proximity to Messi and his entourage on the pitch allegedly blocking view from galleries, was shared by his party colleague Kunal Ghosh on social media. In the December 15 letter written on a blank paper, Biswas sought relief from the charge of the sports department for the sake of an "impartial inquiry" which the state government has initiated. The chief minister on Tuesday "appreciated the sentiment and intention of the sports minister" and declared that the sports department would be looked after by her till the "inquiry was over". Earlier in the day, while acting on recommendations of the three-member committee headed by retired Justice Ashim Kumar Roy formed to investigate the alleged event mismanagement, the state government slapped a show-cause notice on DGP Rajeev Kumar seeking an explanation over the lapses reported at the venue and set a deadline of 24 hours to reply. Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Mukesh Kumar was also served a similar show-cause notice and was asked to clarify the role and conduct of the commissionerate in the management of the event, which had led to large-scale chaos and vandalism by spectators within the stadium premises on Saturday. The government suspended the Bidhannagar Deputy Commissioner Aneesh Sarkar and initiated departmental proceedings against him for reported negligence of duty on that day, a statement from Chief Secretary Manoj Pant's office said. Youth Affairs and Sports Department Principal Secretary Rajesh Kumar Sinha was also show-caused, while the services of Salt Lake stadium Chief Executive Officer Deb Kumar Nandan were withdrawn with immediate effect. As per recommendations of the probe committee, the state constituted a SIT comprising four senior IPS officers -- Piyush Pandey, Javed Shamim, Supratim Sarkar and Muralidhar -- to conduct a thorough probe into the stadium chaos which forced the short-termination of the event. Biswas, who currently holds charge of both the sports and youth welfare and the power departments, has sought relief only from responsibilities of the sports portfolio. Even after the acceptance of his resignation from that post, he remains part of the state cabinet, sources said. Calling Biswas's resignation a "hogwash", BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari said the move was made to divert attention from the PILs which the Calcutta High Court is likely to hear later this week where petitioners have prayed for probe into the incident by central agencies for criminal and monetary fraud. "I have confirmed information from organiser Shatadru Dutta's team that Biswas had collected 22,000 tickets for the event which he not only distributed among his followers, but also sold in the grey market at premium prices. There is a concrete money trail for this scam which must be probed," he alleged. Governor CV Ananda Bose, who personally inspected the stadium a day after the rampage, said he has arrived at his own set of inferences on why the violence took place which he shared with the government both over social media and formal communication. "After visiting the stadium and informally interacting with the enquiry commission, I arrived at my own assessment of the situation. There have been strong public demands that the sports minister, who was present at the spot on that fateful day, should resign," Bose said. "It was advised that it is better that the sports minister and those responsible candidly admit their vicarious liability in the matter and resign. The inquiry has to establish accountability on those who committed lapses in the case," he added. Stating that he has only been verbally informed about Biswas quitting and that the Constitution stipulates that the resignation of a minister and reallocation of portfolios should be done with the approval of the governor, Bose said he was waiting for an official correspondence from the government. "This was certainly an event which attracted millions of sports lovers and there has been perceptible and specific systemic failure in handling it. It is surprising that a metropolis like Kolkata does not even have a standard operating procedure for congregation management," he said. Bose said that following his receipt of multiple request petitions and representations from people, he has suggested to the government that a judicial inquiry be ordered into the incident. Angry spectators, upset over alleged mismanagement, resorted to vandalism inside the stadium after the Argentine star prematurely exited the field on December 13, causing damage to property estimated by officials at around Rs 2 crore. The scale and speed of the administrative action underscored the government's attempt to demonstrate accountability amid opposition attacks and public outrage in poll-bound Bengal where Mamata Banerjee is hoping to secure popular mandate for her fourth consecutive term. Police have so far arrested Shatadru Dutta, the prime organiser of the event, on charges of gross mismanagement and five spectators for indulging in stadium vandalism. 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