The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has summoned Ashish Hemrajani, CEO of Big Tree Entertainment, the parent company of BookMyShow, along with the company’s technical head, in connection with an investigation into alleged black market sales of tickets for the much-anticipated Coldplay concert. This is the second summons issued to them, as neither Hemrajani nor the technical head appeared for questioning following the first notice on September 27.
As reported by ANI, the Mumbai Police stated, “Mumbai Police’s EOW sent a summons to CEO Ashish Hemrajani of Big Tree Entertainment Private Limited, the parent company of BookMyShow and the company’s technical head, yesterday. EOW had sent them summons earlier on Sep 27, but they didn’t appear before the agency.” They have been ordered to appear before the investigating officer today to record their statements.
The summons comes in response to a complaint filed by Advocate Amit Vyas, who accused BookMyShow of facilitating a black market for tickets to the Coldplay concert scheduled for January 19 to 21, 2025, at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai. Vyas alleged that tickets originally priced at ₹2,500 were being resold by third parties and influencers for exorbitant prices of up to ₹3 lakh.
In his complaint, Vyas stated, “They have been asked to appear before the investigating officer today and record their statements.” He further accused the platform of manipulating access by logging out legitimate users or blocking them entirely, which enabled ticket bots and black-market operators to dominate the sales process. Vyas claimed that BookMyShow misled the public and Coldplay fans and sought an FIR against the company for fraud.
The EOW has since recorded Vyas’ statement and identified several brokers involved in the alleged ticket scalping. Vyas is seeking to register an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including organized crime, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust. Additionally, he plans to file a public interest litigation (PIL) with the Bombay High Court to establish regulatory guidelines for major events to prevent similar fraudulent activities in the future.
Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT faction) spokesperson Anand Dubey wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday, urging a probe into the “nexus engaged in the black-marketing of tickets.” In his letter, Dubey remarked, “The tickets were reportedly sold out within minutes of being made available online. However, he added that despite the official ticketing partner BookMyShow declaring the show as being sold out, there were other ‘unofficial channels’ through which the tickets were made available at ‘exorbitant prices.’”
Dubey expressed concern for disappointed fans, stating, “The tickets were reportedly sold out within minutes of being made available online, which left many genuine fans, particularly the youth, disappointed.” He highlighted the dismay that arose when it was discovered that tickets remained available through unofficial channels at inflated prices despite BookMyShow’s official announcement of a sell-out.
As investigations continue, the fate of ticket scalping regulations and the accountability of ticketing platforms hangs in the balance, with stakeholders and fans alike eager for resolution.