Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the BJP's youth wing, has filed a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police against BookMyShow and its management, accusing them of money laundering and Rs 500 crore cheating in connection with ticket sales for the Coldplay concert. The event is scheduled for January 18, 19, and 21, 2025, at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, with BookMyShow serving as the official ticketing partner.

Tejindar Singh Tiwana, a BJYM member, has alleged in his complaint that tickets were supposed to be sold on a first come, first served basis. However, BookMyShow created special links for agents involved in black marketing, allowing them to charge inflated prices for tickets, which left fans unable to secure their seats, asserted Tiwana.

“Fans purchasing tickets through the official website or mobile app were stuck in virtual queues. Those without the special links were completely excluded, allowing black marketers to sell tickets at exorbitant prices. This malpractice has helped BookMyShow earn nearly Rs500 crore,” read Tiwana's letter.

He further claimed that this is not an isolated incident, citing similar issues during World Cup and Indian Premier League ticket sales. Third-party agents, including platforms like www.viagogo.com, are allegedly selling tickets worth Rs12,500 for a whopping Rs3 lakh , exploiting Coldplay’s massive fanbase, claimed Tiwana.

Refuting the charge, BookMyShow said it “has no association with any ticket selling/reselling platforms such as Viagogo and Gigsberg or third party individuals for the purpose of reselling Coldplay's Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India”.

“Scalping (reselling tickets for profiteering) is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India. We have filed a complaint with the police and will provide complete support in the investigation,” said BookMyShow. Urging fans to beware of such scammers, it cautioned, “Any tickets bought from unauthorised sources will be at the risk of the consumer, and can turn out to be fake.”

Samridhi Chahande, a fan, said, “After waiting in the (virtual) queue for hours, I couldn't get a ticket. I later saw an Instagram story offering tickets for Rs50,000. It’s infuriating that people with no interest in the concert are profiteering from fans who genuinely care about Coldplay.” One of the fans alleged, “People were using five-six devices to book tickets, but were still unsuccessful. I later found out that some people had bribed engineers at BookMyShow to get early access to ticket links.”

Tiwana has urged the EOW to file an FIR against the directors and key managerial officials of BookMyShow under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections pertaining to illegal practices in ticket distribution as well as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.