26 April,2018 02:00 PM IST | Mumbai | Suraj Ojha and Anurag Kamble
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Stung by mid-day's covert operation that exposed (T20) tickets being sold in black right under its nose, Mumbai Police has cracked the whip on touts. They got to work on Tuesday night, on hearing of mid-day's sting, and caught a 44-year-old house help selling tickets. They will form a special team that will be placed around the stadium to catch touts during the five remaining matches.
On Wednesday, mid-day carried a front-page report about the sting in 'Hawker, pizza boy, chanawala, scalper' which was carried out on Tuesday, right before a match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The team found six touts selling tickets for the match in black and all of them seemed to have an absolute free run. mid-day then contacted cops late at night to question them about this black market.
Looking at nexus
Soon after, cops began cracking down on the touts and nabbed Raju Sawant, 44, a house help. "We found 3 tickets in his possession and we are trying to trace from where he got these tickets" said a police official from Marine Drive police station, adding, "He was presented before court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody till May 2."
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Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma, DCP (zone I) said, "We have received complaints of tickets being sold on the black market and have started working on it. Yesterday, [Tuesday] we nabbed one person, and we are keen to check his nexus."
Upon being asked about preventing such incidents, DCP Sharma said, "We have decided to form a dedicated team of cops that will keep eye on the black market. The team will remain active couple of days before matches and try to crack down on the black market."
The team will consist of 20 to 25 police officers who will go around in disguise to check whether the tickets are being sold in black. They will remain active throughout the T20 season. "This anti-black market squad will not spare a single tout. We are urging citizens not to encourage this black market by buying tickets from them. Also, they should inform cops if they find any touts," said Sharma.
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