Kolkata, June 1 (IANS) Aroop Biswas, the former West Bengal Sports Minister, on Monday approached a court in North 24 Parganas district with an anticipatory bail plea.

His petition at the Barasat District Court follows an FIR registered against him last week at Bidhannagar South Police Station in North 24 Parganas district in connection with the vandalism at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake during Lionel Messi’s GOAT India Tour on December 13 last year.

Although the petition has been admitted, the date of the first hearing in the matter is yet to be decided.

The police registered the FIR on the night of May 30, on the basis of a complaint filed by the main organiser of the Messi event, Satadru Dutta, on May 17.

Biswas, a four-time Trinamool Congress legislator from the Tollygunge Assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas district, got defeated this time from the same constituency in the recently concluded elections.

He was defeated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Papiya Adhikari, a first-time legislator and an actress-turned politician, by a margin of over 6,000 votes.

Earlier during the previous Trinamool Congress regime, the police arrested Messi’s tour organiser, Satadru Dutta, in connection with the Yuva Bharati incident. He was later released on bail.

On May 17, Dutta had filed a written complaint against Biswas and several others. Based on that complaint, the Bidhannagar South Police Station registered an FIR against the former minister.

After the FIR was registered on the night of May 30, Dutta thanked the current West Bengal Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari, the current state sports minister, Nishith Pramanik and the state’s director general of police, Sidh Nath Gupta.

In his complaint filed on May 17, Dutta claimed that Biswas had black-marketed about 22,000 tickets for the Messi event. Based on that allegation, the Bidhannagar South Police Station has started an investigation. Incidentally, the new Sports Minister of the state government, Nisith Pramanik, had spoken about opening a file in the Messi event fiasco after taking charge.

–IANS

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