Chaos as politics gatecrashes party

The team sponsors and tournament sponsors had each brought their own group of supporters, around 500-strong.

Then the politicians descended: Union ministers Sahib Singh Verma and Vijay Goel, all with supporters, placards, party flags, garlands and, you guessed it, slogans. It’s election time after all.

Delhi Police had provided around 100 people — ‘‘good enough’’, as Inspector Jai Bhagwan suggested before zero hour approached. But none of it seemed able to control the mass of people as their agitation grew when 7 o’clock came and went and none of the stars appeared.

What had happened was that seeing the situation the players had been whisked off to a different exit. It was in true filmi style: dummy team coaches were sent to the main exits while the players used the side doors.

If the public were deprived of a sight of the stars, the politicians weren’t. Sources at the IGI Airport said Vijay Goel, MoS Sports, entered the airport premises with his supporters to receive the team. Though most of his supporters had passes to enter the airport, many were carrying cameras and video cameras, banned inside the building. The entire group of about 100 allegedly went up to the airplane and started taking pictures.

A senior airport officer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘‘The aerobridge, from where the supporters were taking pictures, is a sterile area and one requires approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The CISF was trying to control the crowd as were the airport staff but it became very difficult.’’

After receiving the team, Goel took it into the ceremonial lounge, instead of going through the customs channel as planned. ‘‘One needs permission from the Ministry of External Affairs to use the ceremonial lounge; the BCCI had sought and been denied, this permission. Despite this, Goel went into the lounge with his supporters and the team. He was later joined by Sahib Singh Verma. Instead of using the exit from the lounge, Goel then took the team out through the regular entrance,’’ said the sources.

When contacted, however, Goel denied the allegations. ‘‘I entered the airport but all my supporters were outside the airport entrance. Only my staff was with me,’’ he said. He also denied the charge that his supporters were taking pictures from the sterile area and said, ‘‘None of them was with us. There were so many other people like those of the BCCI with us.’’

He said he did use the ceremonial lounge, but added that he had the necessary permission.

(Chitra Subramanyam contributed to this story)