The Mumbai Police’s EOW has issued fresh summons to Ashish Hemrajani, CEO of Big Tree Entertainment (the parent entity of BookMyShow), and the company's technical head to appear for questioning today
EOW had sent them summons earlier on Sep 27 but they didn't appear before the agency, reported ANI
The issue dates back to when tickets for Coldplay's highly anticipated Music Of The Spheres World Tour went live on BookMyShow on September 22. Within minutes, the tickets, which initially started at INR 12,500, were sold out due to overwhelming demand
The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has issued fresh summons to Ashish Hemrajani, CEO of Big Tree Entertainment (the parent entity of BookMyShow), and the company’s technical head to appear for questioning today (September 30) in connection with the ongoing probe into the alleged black marketing of Coldplay’s concert tickets.
This is the second summons, as neither Hemrajani nor the technical head appeared before the agency after they were issued the first notice on September 27.
Citing Mumbai Police, ANI reported, “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 September 27 but they didn’t appear before the agency.”
The report added, “They have been asked to appear before the investigating officer today and record their statements.”
The summons was issued following a complaint by Advocate Amit Vyas, who accused the company of enabling the black market sale of tickets for the highly anticipated Coldplay concert.
He has accused BookMyShow of deceiving the public and Coldplay fans, calling for an FIR to be filed against the company on charges of fraud.
The investigation is ongoing, with more individuals likely to be summoned as part of the case.
At the time, the ticketing platform issued an official statement clarifying that it has no ties with any ticket selling or reselling platforms, including Viagogo and Gigsberg, or with third-party individuals involved in the resale of tickets for Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India.
The upcoming Coldplay concert, part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour 2025, is one of the most eagerly awaited events in India. Scheduled at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium from January 19 to 21, 2025, it has generated immense excitement. When tickets went on sale, over 13 Mn fans logged into BookMyShow causing it to crash, with tickets selling out within minutes.
This comes at a time when BookMyShow is bullish on exclusive international events owing to high demand. Earlier this month, Inc42 reported that the company bought exclusive rights to host ‘Sunburn Festival’ for hundreds of crores a few years ago, and this has mostly been a profitable investment.
