It is a known fact that IPL tickets are always in high demand, and cricket fans do not mind paying some extra bucks to be present at the venue and watch their favourite stars in action. This makes some room for people, who sell tickets in black.
This is exactly what happened ahead of the IPL 2017 opener between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore. The racket was later busted and 17 people were arrested in the case, and around 43 tickets and Rs 43,640 cash were also seized. With IPL, such incidents of black tickets being sold are not a new thing. The police are aware of it and keep a close eye on the matter.
Sometimes the police fail to track such people, but this has been a major success for the detectives of the special operations team of Rachakonda commissionerate, who were keeping tabs on the situation. They received a tip-off, stating that the tickets were sold in black near the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday.
The police had to be clever in their approach, and laid a trap accordingly, which led to the arrest of around 17 persons. SOT inspector K Narsinga Rao stated that these arrested people had got hold of their tickets online, and were selling them for higher prices.
"The accused had purchased tickets online and were selling them in black for profit. We saw the accused selling 1,000 tickets for 3,000," The Times of India quoted K Narsinga Rao as saying.
The police officials in Hyderabad need to keep an even more strict vigilance on the matter, as the IPL 2017 final will be held in the city. The tickets will be in high demand then, irrespective of which teams reach the final, which will invite more people to sell black tickets.