PILs in Calcutta HC seek CBI, ED probe into Salt Lake Stadium vandalism after Messi event chaos

KOLKATA: Three separate public interest litigations (PILs) were filed in the Calcutta High Court on Monday challenging the West Bengal government’s decision to constitute an inquiry committee headed by retired High Court judge Justice Asim Kumar Roy to probe the vandalism at Salt Lake Stadium following the chaos during football legend Lionel Messi’s showcasing event on Saturday.The petitioners have urged the court to hand over the investigation to central agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), citing the scale of the incident and alleged lapses in crowd management and security. The pleas seek transfer of the ongoing state-level inquiry to central agencies for an independent probe into the factors that triggered the violence.The PILs have been filed separately by Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari, and advocates Sabyasachi Chatterjee and Mainak Ghoshal. The petitions are likely to be heard together later this week. Adhikari’s counsel, Bilwadal Bhattacharya, sought permission from the court to file the PIL, arguing that a central probe was necessary to “unearth the factors that had triggered vandalism in the stadium.”Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was scheduled to felicitate Lionel Messi along with his teammates Rodrigo De Paul and Luis Suarez at the event, had announced the formation of the inquiry committee under Justice Roy within hours of the violence breaking out at the stadium.Escalating his attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress ahead of the Assembly elections due next year, Adhikari on Sunday said his party did not accept the state government’s move to appoint an inquiry committee headed by Justice Roy to probe the incident.



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