Amid the uproar amongst the people regarding the booking of Coldplay tickets, BookMyShow parent company CEO Ashish Hemrajani has been summoned by the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), The Indian Express reported. In addition to him, the company’s technical head has also been summoned for an inquiry related to a complaint about the black marketing of Coldplay concert tickets.
A senior police officer confirmed the development, stating that a summons has been issued to Hemrajani as part of the preliminary inquiry (PE) initiated by the agency. The EOW has requested them to appear before the investigating officer on Saturday to provide their statements.
The Coldplay will be performing at the DY Patil Sports Stadium in Mumbai on January 18, 19 and 21.
Coldplay tickets: Probe on
The police have launched an investigation after an advocate filed a complaint with the EOW concerning the alleged black marketing of tickets for the concert.
Advocate Amit Vyas filed a complaint with the EOW on September 23, alleging misconduct by 23 individuals and entities, including Big Tree Entertainment Private Limited and Hemrajani. The company, which owns BookMyShow, was the platform where the tickets were sold.
After being put in queue behind hundreds, thousands and lakhs of people, several fans complained on social media regarding their failure to secure tickets.
In his complaint to the EOW, Advocate Vyas seeks an FIR against the accused, alleging they conspired with premeditated intent to engage in black marketing of the tickets. The complaint claims this fraudulent act deceives and defrauds the general public, particularly Coldplay fans.
An EOW officer said that they have opened a PE and enquiries will be made to see if a “cognisable offence was committed”. “If the inquiry finds material fit to file a cognisable offence, then the PE will be converted into an FIR. And if no cognisable offence is found, then the complaint will be closed and no action will be taken,” the officer added.
A BookMyShow spokesperson said that the company worked hard to give everyone a fair chance at the tickets. “We implemented a queueing system to manage the overwhelming demand and addressed issues caused by suspicious and malicious traffic within minutes, causing a brief delay, but ensuring minimal disruption for genuine fans. Due to the unprecedented demand, a third Mumbai show was added shortly thereafter, which also received a fantastic response,” they added.