Mumbai: Maharashtra Police arrested a man from Malad here in the City on charges of black marketing tickets of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 semi final between India and New Zealand, which is scheduled for Wednesday in Wankhede stadium. Word around is that tickets were being ₹ 27,000 to ₹ 2,50,000 each, which is nearly over 10 times to 100 times premium to the actual rates, according to police.
The arrested has been identified as Akash Kothari and he was picked up from his house in the northern part of the metropolis by a team of JJ police station, the police said.
WhatsApp messages circulating in various groups showed that the tickets were being sold in the range of Rs 27,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh, an official privy to the investigation said.
The arrested individual was selling the tickets at a premium of four to five times the original cost. He has been booked for cheating and other offences under sections 420 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the official added.
A probe is underway to find out from where he procured these tickets and to see if more people are involved in the racket, the police said.
“The New Zealand vs India world cup match ticket, which would cost around Rs 2500 to 4000, was being sold for Rs 25000-50000. After receiving the information, our team contacted the accused and action was taken. Further investigation is ongoing in the matter,” says Praveen Munde, DCP (Circle-1), Mumbai.
There is a high demand for tickets as all tickets to the tournament's remaining three matches have already been sold out, and a capacity crowd is expected in these matches.
The second semi final has been scheduled for Thursday between Australia and South Africa in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. The final will be played between the winners of the semis in Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium aka Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. (With Agency inputs)
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