The COO of BookMyShow, Anil Makhija, appeared before the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) after being summoned in connection with a ticket black marketing case for an upcoming concert in Navi Mumbai. Initially, the CEO of BookMyShow, Ashish Hemrajani, had been called for questioning twice, but in his absence, Makhija arrived to record his statement.
The interrogation lasted for around seven hours, following which Makhija was allowed to leave. However, he has been asked to return with certain documents within the next two days.
The case revolves around the black marketing of tickets for the much-anticipated British rock band Coldplay's concert, set to take place at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The concert is scheduled for January 18, 19, and 21, 2025. The EOW received a complaint regarding the black marketing of tickets, prompting the investigation and subsequent summons to BookMyShow officials.
The complaint was filed by advocate Amit Vyas, who alleged that BookMyShow, responsible for selling the concert tickets, had failed to make the tickets available on their platform. Instead, links to other platforms were being provided for ticket bookings. This raised suspicions, leading to the EOW’s involvement.
According to Vyas, the ticket sale began at midnight on September 22. He had logged into the system beforehand, but to his surprise, he was automatically logged out as soon as the clock struck 12. Despite his attempts, he was unable to log back in for some time. Meanwhile, when he checked another website, he found tickets available there, adding to his confusion. Soon after, the show was sold out. When a second show was announced, Vyas tried again, only to find over 9.99 lakh people ahead of him in the virtual queue. Following this, he lodged a formal complaint with the police.
The investigation is ongoing, and further questioning of BookMyShow officials is expected in the coming days.