Coldplay Row: Mumbai Police Summons BookMyShow CEO Over Alleged Black Marketing Of Tickets

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police has summoned BookMyShow’s parent entity Big Tree Entertainment’s chief executive officer (CEO) Ashish Hemrajani and the company’s technical head in connection with the alleged black marketing of tickets for the upcoming Coldplay concert in Mumbai.

Both the executives have been asked to appear before the investigating officer today (September 28) to record their statements, as per an ANI report.

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 EOW has already taken Vyas’ statement and identified several brokers allegedly involved in the ticket scalping. The investigation is ongoing, with more individuals likely to be summoned as part of the case.

The ticketing platform has 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. “Scalping is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India. We have filed a complaint with the police authorities and will provide complete support to them in the investigation of this matter.”

“We urge you not to fall victim to these scams. Any tickets bought from unauthorised sources will be at the risk of the consumer, and can turn out to be fake tickets. Beware of such scammers,” it added.

A few days back BookMyShow also filed a police complaint regarding the resale of tickets for its exclusive event, ‘Coldplay: Music Of The Spheres World Tour’.

For context, tickets for the concert went live on BookMyShow on Sunday, September 22, at 1:30 PM and were sold out within minutes. The overwhelming demand caused the platform to crash, sparking a public outcry on social media. Ticket prices initially started at INR 12,500, but they are now being resold for as much as INR 4 Lakh on various platforms. 

Shortly after the sale began, BookMyShow issued a statement clarifying that the concert tickets were being listed on these reselling platforms both before and after they officially went live.

A BookMyShow spokesperson told Inc42 that the company took various measures to ensure a smooth ticketing process for fans during the Coldplay concert sale. 

“We implemented a queueing system to manage the overwhelming demand and addressed issues caused by suspicious and malicious traffic within minutes, causing a brief delay, but ensuring minimal disruption for genuine fans. Due to the unprecedented demand, a third Mumbai show was added shortly thereafter, which also received a fantastic response,” the spokesperson added.

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.