Former TMC Minister Arup Biswas appears before police in connection with Messi case

The former sports minister visited the police station on Thursday as interim protection from arrest granted by court expired on Wednesday.

By Ajay Halder

Kolkata, June 18: With the interim protection from arrest granted by the Calcutta High Court having expired yesterday, former West Bengal Sports Minister Arup Biswas appeared before the police on Thursday in connection with investigation into allegations of corruption and abuse of power which led to chaos forcing Argentina football legend Lionel Messi to cut short his visit for which people had spent lots of money in December last year.

Biswas arrived at the Bidhannagar South Police Station at 9:55 AM on Thursday. Despite receiving repeated notices regarding the Messi affair, Biswas had previously evaded three summons by the police. The Calcutta High Court had issued a clear directive mandating his appearance and requiring the former Sports Minister to fully cooperate with the investigation. Finally, he has presented himself at the station.

The incident dates back to December 13, 2025. Shatadru Dutta—the man responsible for bringing Lionel Messi to India—was arrested following chaos at the event held at Kolkata's Yuva Bharati Krirangan. At the time, serious questions were raised regarding the role of the then Sports Minister; however, the issue was not pursued vigorously due to the Trinamool Congress being in power.

The situation took a new turn following the political shift in Bengal on May 4. Shatadru—who had spent 38 days in jail during the Trinamool regime over the chaos at the Messi event—filed a complaint against Arup at the Bidhannagar South Police Station. He accused Arup of financial corruption involving crores of rupees and abuse of power.

Subsequently, the police issued repeated notices summoning Arup Biswas for questioning. Arup, however, continued to avoid appearing by citing various reasons, a matter that eventually led to litigation in the Calcutta High Court.

The case was heard in Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya's court on June 10. The court granted Arup conditional interim protection from arrest regarding Shatadru's FIR until August 17. However, the court explicitly stated that Arup Biswas must appear on the scheduled date if summoned by the police. The judge also clarified that no stay order would be granted regarding the investigation.