Kolkata, Dec 15 (IANS) The individuals arrested in connection with the vandalism at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake during the Lionel Messi event on Monday claimed before a court that they were themselves victims of the incident. Their lawyers raised this contention during the hearing and sought bail for the accused on any conditions. However, the court rejected their bail applications.

As of Monday afternoon, five persons have been arrested in connection with the violence and vandalism at the stadium. Those arrested have been identified as Basudev Das, Sanjay Das, Abhijit Das, Gaurav Basu and Shubhrapratim Dey. All five were produced before the Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Court.

The police did not seek custodial interrogation of the accused and instead prayed for judicial custody. It was during this stage of the proceedings that the lawyers appearing for the accused raised several questions related to the incident and pressed for bail. They argued that since the police were not seeking custody, the accused should be released on bail.

The bail plea, however, was strongly opposed by the prosecution. The public prosecutor submitted before the court that several government employees and police personnel were injured during the rampage at the stadium.

He added that detailed medical reports on the severity of the injuries were yet to be received. It was also argued that the police could still seek custodial interrogation of the accused at a later stage, even while they remain in judicial custody.

The defence lawyers also questioned whether the arrested individuals were clearly visible in the CCTV footage collected by the police. They asked where the proof was that their clients were seen on camera indulging in vandalism.

The accused claimed that they had gone to the stadium after purchasing tickets with their own money to watch Lionel Messi, but were unable to see the football star properly due to alleged mismanagement. They insisted that they were victims of the chaos, not perpetrators.

Among those arrested, Abhijit Das and Basudev Das specifically claimed that they did not appear in the CCTV footage. Basudev’s counsel informed the court that after Abhijit’s arrest, his client had himself gone to the police station, where he was subsequently arrested. During the hearing, the accused repeatedly asserted that they had suffered due to the mismanagement at the venue and should not be held responsible for the violence.

Shubhrapratim Dey, one of the arrested individuals, is a resident of South Dinajpur district and an MBA student. Another MBA student is also among those taken into custody. Shubhrapratim told the court that he works with a semi-government organisation while pursuing his studies. He pleaded for bail, stating that his future would be ruined if he remained in custody. Despite these submissions, the court declined to grant bail.

The court remanded all five accused to judicial custody till December 22 and directed the police to submit the case diary for further scrutiny.

Chaos had erupted at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan on Saturday during Lionel Messi’s visit to Kolkata. Messi, along with fellow football stars Luis Suarez and Angel Di Maria, did visit the stadium, but stayed for only around 22 minutes.

During their presence on the field, they were surrounded by a large crowd, which included state Sports Minister Aroop Biswas.

Due to the crowding on the ground, spectators seated in the galleries were barely able to catch a glimpse of Messi. After the footballers left the stadium, anger among the spectators spilled over. The protest initially took the form of tearing down hoardings in the galleries, with spectators blaming poor management. This was followed by bottles being hurled from the stands towards the field.

The situation gradually worsened, with chairs in the galleries being damaged. Eventually, fencing around the field was broken, and angry spectators stormed onto the pitch from multiple directions, resulting in widespread vandalism at the stadium.

–IANS

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