Mumbai Police Summons BookMyShow CEO Over Coldplay Tickets Black Market Probe

The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police has summoned BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani and the company's technical head for questioning regarding the alleged black marketing of Coldplay concert tickets. This follows a complaint and is the second summons after failure to appear earlier.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has issued fresh summons to Ashish Hemrajani, the CEO of Big Tree Entertainment, the parent company of BookMyShow, and the company's technical head. They have been called to appear for questioning on Monday concerning an ongoing investigation into the alleged black marketing of Coldplay concert tickets. This is the second summons after they failed to appear for questioning on September 27. According to the police, neither Hemrajani nor the technical head has contacted them regarding the matter.

The investigation began after Advocate Amit Vyas filed a complaint claiming that the ticketing platform was facilitating the black marketing of tickets for Coldplay's eagerly awaited concert, set to take place on January 18, 19, and 21, 2025, at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. In response, BookMyShow released a statement on Saturday, outlining their stance and the steps taken to ensure fair ticket distribution.

'With 13 million fans eager to secure tickets, emotions were high on September 22nd on BookMyShow for Coldplay's 'Music Of The Spheres' World Tour 2025 in India,' said a BookMyShow spokesperson. 'We did our best to ensure every fan had a fair chance, limiting purchases to four tickets per user across all shows, providing clear booking instructions, and maintaining transparent communication through all official channels.'

Responding to allegations of unauthorized ticket sales, the spokesperson added, 'We noticed that unauthorized platforms listed, and continue to list, Coldplay tickets before and after the official sale. We have no association with these unauthorized sellers. BookMyShow staunchly condemns and opposes the black marketing of tickets, a practice punishable by law in India. We have filed a complaint with the police and are fully cooperating with the investigation. We warn consumers that tickets purchased from unauthorized sources may be invalid or counterfeit.'

Coldplay's 'Music of the Spheres' World Tour initially featured two shows at DY Patil Stadium but added a third on January 21 due to high demand.

(With inputs from agencies.)