City police have so far arrested 16 people, registered 7 cases in different police stations and seized 94 tickets meant for Sunday’s India-South Africa world cup match at the Eden Gardens as part of a drive to check alleged black-marketing of tickets, an officer said on Friday.
On Friday, officers of Kolkata Police’s detective department grilled representatives of the online ticket booking portal in connection with allegations of black-marketing of tickets for Sunday’s tie.
However, no representatives of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), who were also asked to report at Maidan police station in this connection, came forward, he added. “Our officers spoke with portal officials today. But no CAB representatives came,” the officer said, adding that they have served another notice to officials of the state cricket body to appear before them.
Police had summoned officials of the CAB and the portal following a complaint that tickets for the India-South Africa match were being black-marketed, an officer said.
Police on Friday arrested three persons from Netaji Nagar here for allegedly black marketing tickets for the match, he said, adding that 17 tickets were seized from them. “The arrested persons were allegedly selling a Rs 900 ticket for Rs 8,000.
In all, 17 tickets have been recovered from the arrested persons,” he said, adding that they were arrested under various sections of the IPC.
A case under the WB Black Marketing Act 1948 has been lodged against the trio and officials of the portal and CAB.
On Thursday night, police arrested two from Dharmatala for alleged black-marketing of tickets and seized eight tickets from them.
Acting on a separate complaint, Hare Street police arrested a person for duping a man in the name of selling match tickets, he added. The first case of black marketing was registered at Maidan police station on Wednesday after a complaint was received that tickets were being sold at astronomical figures “owing to the connivance of an online portal along with officials of the CAB and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)” for the India-South Africa match on Sunday, he said.
The officer said raids will continue to keep a check on the black marketing of tickets. “Our officers are alert and raids will continue,” the officer told PTI. The complainants alleged that certain BCCI and CAB officials, along with the online ticket booking portal, intentionally reserved a good number of tickets meant for the general public and made those available to black-marketers.
A senior CAB official rubbished the allegations and said they were only hosting the match and had no involvement in the selling of tickets which was looked after by the portal and the International Cricket Council (ICC).
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