West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas stepped down on Tuesday (December 16, 2025), taking political responsibility for the chaos that unfolded during Lionel Messi’s much-hyped appearance at Salt Lake Stadium three days earlier.
Mr Biswas submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who accepted it, days after apologising the star footballer for the chaos that erupted during his visit in Kolkata.
In a formal communication, the Chief Minister said she respected the minister’s decision to “offer relief from the Sports Department” to ensure an impartial probe into the December 13 incident at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (VYBK). Ms Banerjee added that Mr Biswas was “correct” in stepping aside and announced that she would personally oversee the Sports Department until the inquiry is concluded.
The resignation comes in the wake of violent scenes at the Salt Lake Stadium after Messi made only a fleeting appearance, triggering anger among thousands of fans who had paid steep ticket prices for a glimpse of the football icon. As security and crowd management collapsed, parts of the stadium were vandalised, turning what was billed as a celebratory sporting spectacle into a law-and-order nightmare. Mr Biswas himself was among the event organisers who were seen escorting Messi amid the chaos.
To probe the incident, the state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Jawed Shamim, ADG South Bengal Supratim Sarkar, Director (Security) Peeyush Pandey, and Barrackpore Police Commissioner Muralidhar. Parallelly, an enquiry commission headed by retired Justice Ashim Kumar Ray was set up on December 13 to examine the circumstances leading to the breakdown.
Administrative action has also followed swiftly. Bidhannagar Deputy Commissioner of Police Aneesh Sarkar has been suspended, and departmental proceedings have been initiated against him. Show cause notices have been issued to senior officials, including Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar, Bidhannagar Police Commissioner Mukesh Kumar, and Principal Secretary of the Youth Affairs and Sports Department Rajesh Kumar Sinha.
