Kolkata, Dec 15 (NationPress) The individuals detained in relation to the vandalism at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake during the Lionel Messi event on Monday argued in court that they were, in fact, the victims of the situation. Their legal representatives presented this argument during the proceedings and requested bail for the accused under any conditions. Nonetheless, the court denied their bail requests.

As of Monday afternoon, five individuals have been detained concerning the violence and vandalism at the stadium. The arrested individuals have been named as Basudev Das, Sanjay Das, Abhijit Das, Gaurav Basu, and Shubhrapratim Dey. All five were brought before the Bidhannagar Sub-Divisional Court.

The police did not pursue custodial interrogation of the accused and instead requested judicial custody. During this phase of the proceedings, the lawyers for the accused raised numerous inquiries concerning the incident and advocated for bail. They contended that since the police were not pursuing custody, the accused should be granted bail.

The prosecution, however, strongly opposed the bail request. The public prosecutor informed the court that several government employees and police officers sustained injuries during the chaos at the stadium.

He also mentioned that comprehensive medical reports detailing the extent of the injuries were still pending. It was argued that the police could still request custodial interrogation of the accused later, even while they remained in judicial custody.

The defense attorneys questioned whether the arrested individuals were clearly visible in the CCTV footage collected by the police. They demanded to know the evidence that showed their clients engaging in vandalism.

The accused asserted that they attended the stadium after purchasing tickets with their own funds to watch Lionel Messi, but were unable to properly see the football star due to alleged mismanagement. They maintained that they were victims of the disorder, not offenders.

Among those detained, Abhijit Das and Basudev Das specifically claimed that they did not appear in the CCTV footage. Basudev's attorney informed the court that following Abhijit’s arrest, his client voluntarily went to the police station, where he was subsequently arrested. Throughout the hearing, the accused reiterated that they had suffered due to the venue's mismanagement and should not be held accountable 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 in custody. Shubhrapratim shared with the court that he is employed at a semi-government organization while attending school. He appealed for bail, stating that his future would be jeopardized if he remained in custody. Despite these arguments, the court refused to grant bail.

The court remanded all five accused to judicial custody until December 22 and instructed the police to submit the case diary for further examination.

Disorder erupted at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan on Saturday during Lionel Messi’s visit to Kolkata. Messi, accompanied by fellow football stars Luis Suarez and Angel Di Maria, visited the stadium but stayed for only about 22 minutes.

While on the field, they were encircled by a large crowd, which included state Sports Minister Aroop Biswas.

Due to the overwhelming crowd on the field, attendees in the galleries struggled to catch a glimpse of Messi. Following the footballers' departure from the stadium, anger among the spectators erupted. The protest initially manifested as the tearing down of hoardings in the galleries, with spectators attributing blame to mismanagement. This was subsequent to bottles being thrown from the stands towards the field.

The situation progressively deteriorated, with chairs in the galleries being damaged. Ultimately, the fencing around the field was breached, and furious spectators surged onto the pitch from various angles, resulting in extensive vandalism at the stadium.