Satadru’s ticket refund rider: Fans will get money only after sale proceeds arrive
Telegraph | 26 December 2025
The main organiser of Lionel Messi’s tour to India, Satadru Dutta, has told police that he would be able to refund the money of the ticket buyers only after the company handling the sale of tickets transfers the funds to his accounts, Bidhannagar police sources said.
Sources said Dutta said this when he was being questioned face to face with an official of the ticket reselling company that was in charge of selling the tickets for the event.
Thousands of people who shelled out money to purchase tickets and came to watch Messi, failed to catch even a glimpse of the star on December 13 and demanded a refund.
“Dutta said he would be able to initiate a refund only when he received the proceeds of the ticket sales,” said an officer attached to the probe.
The official of the private company has reportedly told the police that according to their contract with Dutta’s company, a portion of the money had already been transferred to Dutta’s company. The contradicting statements would be probed by the special investigation team that is in charge of the overall probe.
The police had earlier instructed the ticket reselling company to freeze the proceeds of the ticket sales and asked them not to transfer anything to Dutta, following the organiser’s arrest after the fiasco at the Salt Lake Stadium.
The police said officials of six companies that provided corporate sponsorship to the event have been summoned.
“They have been asked to appear before the investigation team within a stipulated time. They will be asked about their financial contracts and transactions with Dutta,” said a senior officer of the Bidhannagar city police.
Dutta, who is the only one to have been arrested for the alleged mismanagement of the event, is currently in police remand.