Ticketing giant BookMyShow has filed an FIR with Mumbai Police, targeting widespread ticket scalping and black market sales for Coldplay’s highly anticipated concert in January 2025.
BookMyShow stated that it has provided the authorities with a comprehensive list of individuals involved in reselling, including information on independent sellers. The company is also considering cancelling tickets purchased through these unauthorised channels.
Mumbai Police has registered the FIR under sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS) and 66(C) of the Information Technology Act, reports ANI.
Earlier, Mumbai’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) summoned BookMyShow CEO Ahish Hemrajani over allegations of black marketing related to Coldplay concert tickets.
“We have provided details of all resellers that have come to our attention, including independent individuals reselling tickets for this tour across social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and beyond, as also digital platforms such as Viagogo, Stubhub Holdings and more, to aid authorities in a thorough investigation,” BookMyShow said.
This aggressive stance follows an initial complaint filed by BookMyShow on September 23, highlighting the growing problem of black market ticket sales for the Coldplay concert.
BookMyShow’s efforts to tackle ticket scalping have been overshadowed by legal challenges, as reported by MediaNama. Just one day after their initial complaint, lawyer Amit Vyas filed a separate case with Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), accusing the company of being complicit in the black market sales they aim to eliminate.
Vyas alleges that BookMyShow worked with the ticket resale platform Viagogo, allowing inflated prices and illegal reselling. He has charged the company with organised crime, cheating, and criminal breach of trust under the newly introduced Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita.
Regarding Vyas’s allegations, BookMyShow has reiterated its disassociation from unauthorised reselling platforms. The company maintains no ties to Viagogo or any other resellers. It further explained that it placed a cap on the number of tickets any individual could buy — limited to four — to ensure fairness in ticket distribution.
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