Bansri Shah, Pune
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has summoned the CEO of BookMyShow, Ashish Hemrajani and the technical head for questioning in connection with allegations of black market ticket sales for the Coldplay concert in Mumbai.
The band, whose concert has been long awaited, is set to perform at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai in the month of January. The exclusive ticketing platform for the Coldplay concert in India was BookMyShow. Released on September 22, the tickets were noted to be sold within minutes. They were then quickly being resold at inflated prices through third-party platforms and individuals.
According to ANI, a lawyer named Amit Vyas subsequently lodged a complaint with the police, accusing BookMyShow of enabling the black market sale of tickets, citing unnamed officials. Tickets, originally priced at ₹2,500, were then being resold by third parties and influencers for as much as ₹3 lakh. Amit Vyas is seeking to have a case registered against the company on charges of fraud.
With a preliminary investigation underway, the EOW has already taken Mr. Vyas’ statement and have found the involvement of multiple brokers suspected of participating in the alleged ticket scalping scheme.
In a statement released earlier this week, BookMyShow clarified that it has no affiliation with ticket-selling or reselling platforms like Viagogo and Gigsberg, nor with any individuals engaged in reselling. The online ticket aggregator also urged the public to avoid falling prey to such scams, warning that tickets purchased from unauthorized sources are at the buyer’s risk and may be counterfeit.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey, in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, expressed concerns about tickets reportedly selling out within minutes of being released online, leaving many genuine fans disappointed. He hinted at a ‘nexus’ that might be involved in the black market sale of tickets, exploiting the eagerness of young fans willing to spend significant amounts of their parents’ money to attend the concert.
He added to the letter, urging, that it could only be through interventions by the Chief Minister that appropriate measures could be undertaken to stop such incidents from happening.
Under the Maharashtra Entertainment Act, the resale of tickets at inflated prices is strictly prohibited in the state. BookMyShow has lodged a complaint with the police and has assured complete compliance with the authorities in the investigation.