British musical group Cold Play’s Indian concert is scheduled to take place in January 2025. Its online ticket window was opened two days ago. All tickets were sold out within minutes. The Book My Show ticket sales site crashes.
Those waiting for tickets were disappointed. Even a big filmmaker like Karan Johar didn’t get a ticket for the concert. Former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav also expressed concern over the issue.
Now the biggest question is how thousands of tickets were sold in a minute or two. Was there black marketing behind this? To investigate this case, Indianewsget’s team conducted a sting operation.
The investigation revealed that ticket manipulation had taken place on a large scale. Tickets that are not available on site are easily sold outside at prices 10 to 15 times higher. The situation is that a ticket of Rs 3500 is available for Rs 70 thousand. There are gangs in Mumbai selling black tickets.
The perpetrator of the fraud turned out to be the club’s DJ. We met people in Mumbai who led us to these fraudsters. However, this required a lot of planning. We contacted these fraudsters through independent journalist Mohsin Shaikh and Shakir Punjabi, who runs an NGO in Mumbai. We got our hands on a person named Ajman, who is a club DJ by profession, but also does black ticket marketing.
A note worth Rs 35,000 was sold for Rs 1 lakh 70,000. We started talking to this scammer via social media. We asked him for tickets. She said she would get as much as she wanted. He indicated the ticket prices. The cheapest ticket of Rs 3,500 would be Rs 70,000, the lounge ticket of Rs 35,000 would be Rs 1 lakh 70,000 and the corporate box ticket fare would be Rs 25 lakh. He also said that he would also provide tickets for upcoming events.
show discussions
The fraudster made a suspicious called to speak to the place After taking all this information, we asked the scammer for his location. He told me to make the payment online and I will send the ticket. Since we had to expose this on camera, we asked to meet him and talk to him. Accepting our request, he called us to a hotel in Kurla (a district of Mumbai).
We got there, but this person was not found. We messaged him again on Instagram. Then it sent the new location. He called us under a bridge in Kurla itself.
Now this place was a bit suspicious, incidents of theft and assault often happen here. The people on our team were a little scared, but we decided to go for it. We met him by changing his name.
Continuation of the conversation… Question: We need tickets for the Coldplay concert. will you get? answer- Yes, you will definitely get it. Tell me how much you want. By the way, if you want it in bulk, let me know, I can get as many as you want.
Question- But what is its confirmation? How will you deliver the ticket? answer– Don’t worry about him. You will receive a confirmation email. After that you will also receive a hand band two days before the concert.
Question: Can there be a reduction in the rate? answer- Even if you are meeting me for the first time, I will still reduce the rate. Just tell me how many tickets you want, as there is a lot of competition. Ticket sales take place in 12 to 12 boxes (lakh).
Question: Do you have any arrangements for upcoming events? answer– We have arrangements for every event. We help with all ticketing events including IPL and World Cup. Whenever you need tickets, contact me.
Question: How do tickets sell out so quickly on Book My Show? answer– Book My Show staff does all this work. They remove tickets from the site showing them as sold. Then they make a profit by selling it outside at a price several times higher. How do we get these tickets? The people inside give, that’s why we receive them.
The actual ticket price for the Coldplay event can be understood from this chart. The most expensive ticket is Rs 35,000, which fraudsters sell for Rs 1 lakh 70,000.
Question: Right now I need a ticket. I’ll let you know when to buy the rest in bulk. Can I still give token money? answer- Tickets will be available immediately, but token money won’t be enough. You will need to make full payment. Even if you buy tickets in bulk, you will have to pay the full amount.
After that, we gave 70,000 rupees in cash to that person. He counted all the money on the side of the road. After that, he called a person and said: the money has been received, please send him a confirmation email.
He said he had to give the money to someone. Now he didn’t say who should do it.
These people give tickets after taking money. We do not guarantee whether the ticket is authentic or not.
He gave us an online ticket for which he had hidden the reservation number. Now there is no guarantee whether the note he gave is genuine or not. From this fraudster’s words, it seemed like there was quite a connection behind him. There are some very big people involved in this. He also said that many people bought tickets from him and resold them.
He gave the ticket online but had hidden the reservation number.
No response from Book My Show Since the fraudster also accused Book My Show of being a scam, we called Ashish Hemrajani, CEO of Book My Show, to find out the truth. He hasn’t responded yet. I didn’t even respond to the message.
There is no specific law regarding counterfeit notes in India. Is there a law against counterfeit notes in India? To know the answer, we contacted a lawyer Ali Kashif Khan Deshmukh. He said: “There is no specific law prohibiting black marketing of entertainment tickets other than movie tickets.
At present, only Sections 406, 420 of the IPC or the provisions of the NBS and the IT Act are applicable in this case. The government should therefore pass a concrete law to put an end to these illegal activities.
Former Mumbai ACP Vasant Dhoble said that if fraudsters say such things against Book My Show, then they should come forward and give clarifications. Keeping their complaints in mind, action can be taken.
Why is it important to stop counterfeiting? There is no data on tickets bought or sold under the table. This is downright tax evasion. The government is suffering a lot. The government sells tickets at a low price, while outside they are sold at a much higher price.
Apart from this, common people never get tickets for such events because the tickets are already sold in black. Those who have money can easily buy tickets at higher prices, but the common man is deprived of this.
A crowd of several thousand people gathers at the musical concert, people are crazy to attend. There has been a lot of enthusiasm for musical concerts in India in recent years. Thousands and thousands of people gather at the concerts of Punjabi and foreign singers. People go crazy to attend these concerts, maybe that’s why they don’t hesitate to spend money.
*** History entry – Mohsin Shaikh