Maharashtra: Two booked for selling fake Garba tickets in Thane

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Police in Maharashtra's Thane city has registered a case of cheating and forgery against two persons for allegedly selling fake tickets for a Garba event, an official said on Monday.

At a Garba programme organised at Modella Mill Compound on Saturday during the ongoing Navratri festival, the security team got suspicious about the tickets of some female participants.

During checking, they found the tickets to be fake, the official from Wagle Estate police station told news agency PTI.

When the security team enquired with the participants, it came to light that a man was standing outside the venue and selling the tickets. The event organisers then caught hold of him.

The man had allegedly sold 99 fake tickets, which were a duplicate copy of the original tickets, for Rs 700 each, thus causing a loss of Rs 69,300 to the programme organisers, the official said.

Also read: Mumbai: Passes worth lakhs faked for BJP MP's Garba event

The event organisers later filed a police complaint against the man and his associate, based on which a case was registered against the duo on Sunday under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 465, 468, 471 (forgery) and 34 (common intention), he said.

Meanwhile, the Mulund police has filed an FIR against an unknown individual or group responsible for counterfeiting and distributing 225 fake passes for BJP MP Manoj Kotak's Prerna Raas Garba 2023 event, which were subsequently sold to unsuspecting attendees at remarkably low prices. The incident came to light when the crowd at Kalidas Ground on PK Road in Mulund West suddenly swelled, prompting the event organisers to scrutinise their passes. Upon examining their QR codes, they discovered fake passes worth Rs 4 lakh in total.

The event management team believes that an unknown party duplicated the original passes and introduced these counterfeits into circulation. Ajay Trivedi, the president of the Garba event, had contracted Gargote's event management company to provide various services, including setting up the stage, sound and lighting systems and providing security, bouncers, canteen services and gate staff responsible for pass verification.

Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis felicitates the MHB Colony police team at Kinjal Dave's Garba eventHome Minister Devendra Fadnavis felicitates the MHB Colony police team at Kinjal Dave's Garba event (With inputs from ANI)